


Love Hoop

by MizukixTsukiyomi



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale, Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Basketball, Crossover, High School, Multi, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-15
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2018-09-17 15:39:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 30,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9331952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MizukixTsukiyomi/pseuds/MizukixTsukiyomi
Summary: From battling demons to watching demons on a basketball court is something the miko never dared to dream. These males were nothing but normal in this competitive sport, but who knew males were more competitive when it came to wanting something more than just the title of a winner. Kagome was stuck in the world of a basketball war.





	1. A Given Decision

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and Kuroko no Basket belongs to Tadatoshi Fujimaki. Two respected mangaka! I do not own the characters in any way nor the story plot. Only the idea of this fanfiction!
> 
> I decided to post this here to share it with people that may not visit fanfiction. Although fanfiction has 33 chapters (so far), I will post the rest here at a faster pace. Thank you for reading!

"Seirin High…" The former miko, savior of the Feudal Era, looked around the crammed entrance of the school. Clubs swarmed like bees trying to recruit new incoming students for the year which reminded her that she, herself, was a normal teen. Kagome looked back down to her brochure, following the map they had given her to the welcoming orientation. She buried her attention to the paper in front of her, ignoring all others around and the calls of people trying to convince her into the clubs and activities.

' _I need to hurry to meet Yuka-chan, Eri-chan, and Ayumi-chan at the entrance of the orientation ceremony before it begins,'_ Kagome's inner thoughts bolted away from her mind as she came to crash into a person, making her stumble backwards.

Falling on her behind, Kagome winced from the slight impact: "Itai…"

"Ah…gomen."

The miko's eyes met another pair of blue the moment she looked up from her fallen spot. She blinked, taking in the male's features of ghostly colored hair and his dull stare into her own orbs.

"Are you alright?" he asked, taking her out of her inner observations.

"Ah…h-hai," Kagome nodded and met with his offering hand to help her back up. Taking in the offer, she dusted off the dirt from her skirt and looked over to the mysterious male. "Gomen, I didn't mean to bump into you."

"It's alright," he replied picking up her dropped brochure. "Are you…a first year?"

"Uh, hai," she answered, taking back her paper and closing it. "I was about to make my way to the orientation ceremony."

The male blinked, watching as she looked around to find the location she had been searching for. He caught the smile she sent him.

"Well, I better be off before I am late," she scratched her cheek lightly.

"Have you joined any clubs?"

"Clubs?" she repeated, confused on his interest. "Nope, not really interested," she smiled softly, dropping her gaze down to the paper in her hand.

The boy remained silent, watching as the happy expression on her face dropped to one of remorse and loss. He blinked as the miko only returned back to her former smile and waved.

"Well, I need to make my way to the ceremony. Thanks for helping me back up!" she laughed lightly before making her way around him and soon blending into the crowd of people.

"Hai…," he whispered before he returned back to his task onto signing into his desired club.

* * *

"Kagome-chan!"

Long ebony hair moved to the side as a young female looked over her shoulder to see her three familiar close friends running to her with a wide smiles. Her cerulean colored orbs blinked, unusual to see her friends to hyped. Only with a week into their new year in a new school, her friends had already become excited with everything around them. Of course, it was like a whole new world to them. The high school life. Although her friends continued to pester her with the want of her in a club.

She would continue to tell them she was not interested and only wanted to concentrate on her academic goals. The miko did feel horrible in rejecting their hopes, but she didn't feel the need any more of joining something. She just wanted a normal and peaceful life without the drama, troubles, and tears of loss.

"Eri-chan. Ayumi-chan. Yuka-chan," the three young teens stopped in front of her, letting Kagome fully turn her body to their attention. "Is something wrong?"

"No, of course not, silly!" smiled Ayumi. "We came to take you!"

"Take…me?" At this, Kagome's eyes blinked multiple times in confusion. "Take me where…exactly?"

"Well, we heard this new fast food place opened up about a month ago and a lot of good reviews are being given," smiled Yuka. "So we wanted to go today and try it."

Kagome sighed tiredly: "Sorry, girls. I really need to catch up with math and take care of the shrine. You three know I do not have much time to go out freely."

Eri placed her hands on her hips: "That is why we are taking you forcefully for today!"

"W-What!?" Kagome's eyes widened before she felt her two arms being taken under Yuka's and Ayumi's and quickly dragged to their destination. "Wait a minute!"

"It will only be for a while, Kagome-chan!" smiled Eri. "We promise!"

Kagome looked at Eri for a few seconds before sighing in defeat: "Fine, but do not think you two are forgiven so easily."

' _I could have easily walked away once they let me go,'_ Kagome's eyes scanned over the menu of the place as her friends ordered their own likes. She crossed her arms, still undecided. She was not picky, she just was not hungry at the moment. _'Why did I let them take me here…? I have so much to do. I mean, I wish I could spend time with them, but school and family duties come first.'_

Her eyes looked ahead, realizing it was her turn to come up to the front and order. She gave the employee a smile before ordering a small combo. Her eyes glided to the corner to see that her three friends had begun to talk to three males. Raising an eyebrow, she observed the simple uniform they wore.

' _Hmm, they go to our school.'_ She gave her friends a boredom look. _'So that is why they wanted to come here. Try the food they said…'_

She gave another voiceless sigh and handed the money to the employee and waited for her change. Kagome took her change with a smile and placed it orderly back into her wallet.

"I will just prepare the drink for you, ma'am," spoke the employee while grabbing the cup and beginning to pour a bit of lemonade.

"Um…alright, that will be two-thousand six-hundred and eighty four yen (approx. twenty-two dollars), sir."

Upon listening to the large amount of money the customer had to give, Kagome slightly looked to her side to see a male with dark red hair with black streaks having ordered his food and looking into his wallet. He was looking and looked for what seemed forever.

"Ah…damn. How could I forget my money?" he spoke, angry with himself. "Um, sorry," he looked up at the employee. "It seems like I forgot my money…"

Kagome blinked and noticed his embarrassed facial expression. Her eyes dropped down to her wallet and gave herself a mental smile before taking out the exact amount the cashier had asked for. She walked over to the cashier and handed the money to her.

"Here, I will pay for him."

The male's red eyes immediately dropped down to the much more petite female having already given the money: "W-Wait! You do not have to-!"

Kagome gave the male a smile: "Do not worry about it. Think of it as a nice deed."

Before he could say anything back to strange female, she had already been called for her order pick-up. Smiling at both the male and cashier, she returned her attention in grabbing the tray of her food and walked away, leaving the red-headed male in confusion.

"Um, sir, here is your drink."

His attention was drawn back to the employee, handing him his drink.

"Uh…thanks."

* * *

Walking over to a table, Kagome jumped slightly as her three friends appeared in front of her with wider smiles than before and what looked like begging eyes.

"What is it now?" glared Kagome.

"Well…these three guys invited us to go to a karaoke place with them. They go to our school and you know how hard it is to make friends when we are just first years," Ayumi placed her hands in a prayer. "Please come with us! They are third years!"

Kagome looked at them with a look reading 'you-are-not-serious?' before sighing once again: "Girls, I told you I cannot go. I promised you only coming here to eat and that is it."

Their expression dropped in sadness, knowing that they had lost their chance in getting to know boys from their new school. And they were right. Getting to know people at high school was not easy. Much harder to friend males than females and upperclassmen at that. Kagome gave her friends a smile: "But girls, you three can go. Do not think I am going to tie you down. Enjoy yourselves."

"B-But…we dragged you here. We could not just leave you alone after all of that," whispered Eri for her to hear.

Kagome chuckled: "It is fine. I will let you know if I liked the food or not tomorrow."

Her friends gave her smile, surprised she was not annoyed. If anything she was understanding.

"Kagome-chan….," whispered Yuka. "You are amazing!" She hugged her friend from the side.

Kagome moved her tray to the side: "Yeah, yeah. Now go," she laughed. "The boys are waiting."

Kagome watched from her standing spot as her friends waved goodbye and left with the group. She smiled, waving back before sitting on a table and setting her tray down near the window. Her eyes look out, seeing them laugh with enjoyment.

' _A full year has already passed by just like that. I still have days where I cannot believe that I am already in high school,'_ her eyes were caught by the auburn sky. _'I wonder how my friends are doing in the Feudal Era. I am sure they are safe now that Naraku has been dealt with.'_

Kagome took a sip of her drink, thinking back to the events that had happened when she and Inuyasha had come across their long awaited enemy, Naraku. They had betted everything, even their lives in that battle. Sango and Miroku had come as fast as they could after they had defeated Byakuya. The battle was nothing but difficult. Naraku continued to throw them down not only with physical attacks but also mental ones to destroy their will to fight and survive. She had to admit that it was almost working until Inuyasha had broken her out of her fear.

Naraku ended up being defeated along with the Shikon no Tama fully completed. Her wish in the end was for the jewel to have never been existent in the world, but due to that, she had been taken back to her 'rightful' time. She had two choices after that.

Either having continued to be depressed in her room about her life or continuing to live as her friends would want her to live. She chose to live. Live the life like other teens of her age and here she was. Surprisingly having graduated from middle school even though she was far behind in math but thanks to tutoring, she had passed with a 'B'.

Kagome had made it to a good high school. _'Seirin High. Who knew I would actually pass…'_

Her eyes came back to her small burger and slowly opened the wrapping paper. Before she could take a bite, her eyes widened as her table jumped slightly at the drop of a tray carrying what looked at least like ten burgers, four fries, and a drink. Her eyes scanned up seeing it was the male she had paid the meal for.

Silence expanded through them only with the miko watching as the unknown red-headed male pulled the chair back and sat across from her. His fingers grabbed the burger on the top of the pile and began to unwrap it. She blinked: _'W-Wait…I paid for all of that!?'_ Her attention drew back to him about to take a bite.

"Um…," she whispered to catch his attention.

His red eyes looked up from his meal, to see her having retreated back from taking a bite of her own food.

"What…are you doing?" she questioned.

"What does it look like I am doing? Eating." He answered her before taking a bite of his burger.

She raised an eyebrow: "I meant here. On my table."

He shrugged: "Thanking you."

"Huh?" she blinked, taken back by his choice of words. "Thanking me?"

"For paying for my food," he answered. "I saw you sitting here alone so I decided to join you."

Her eyes dropped with a bored look: "I would call that pity…"

"No!" he exclaimed. "I do not feel pity for you! I was just being nice, sheesh!"

She chuckled at his childish act before nodding: "Well thank you for keeping me company. Um…what is your name?"

"Kagami; Kagami Taiga."

"Higurashi Kagome," she introduced herself with a smile. Opening her eyes from the smile, she noticed the name of his school printed on his jacket. Not to mention the colors of black, white, and red. They seemed familiar. Kagome blinked: "Seirin…?"

"Hmm?" he sounded out his question with food in his mouth. Halting on his chewing, he looked down at his jacket where she was staring. He swallowed his food: "Yeah…I go there. I am a first year." He noticed the recognizable uniform she wore, the same one as his coach and blinked. "Guessing you go there too."

"Y-Yeah…" she replied. "Hmm, I will admit you are big for a first year. Tall in general for a Japanese. I am sure I could have noticed you at school…"

He took a sip of his own drink: "Hm, probably because I always spend my time at the gym."

"Gym?" she tilted her head to the side.

"Yeah, I am a member of the basketball team."

Kagome blinked, surprised yet she knew she should not have been. For her, it came to conclusion that with his height, he could easily be a good player – maybe.

"My life is mostly spent there," he continued, looking out the window. "I love it."

Her eyes continued to stare at him as he spoke for his love for the sport. She had to admit to herself that it was quite…intriguing to hear someone, especially a male, talk about their passion. A sport nonetheless. She had wished to had joined a club in middle school to have a basic idea what her talent could be. Obviously chasing demons would not be the ideal club in this era.

"Are you in any clubs?" he questioned her, taking her out of her mental thoughts.

"Me?" she pointed to herself, setting her drink down. "No…"

It was his turn to blink, surprised. Most people he knew were involved in school in some way. What did she do after school then? A part-time job, perhaps? He had noticed her drop in voice and her eyes falling to stare at her barely eaten meal. Not wanting to poke at something that would be too personal, he cleared his throat.

"Well, I wanted to thank you for paying for all…of this," he scratched the back of his head, realizing he might have ordered too much, although he knew he would finish it easily, but she had paid for all of this. He felt like an idiot in forgetting his money.

Smiling at Taiga, she shook her head: "I already told you not to worry about it, Kagami-kun. Besides, you need your energy if you want to win your matches, right?"

Taiga looked at her smile and blushed slightly, quickly hiding it by looking out the window: "Well…it was a lot to pay for so the least I could do is um…invite you to a game."

"Huh?" she stopped midway from wanting to take a sip of her drink and looked up at the red-head.

"Well, you said you are not in any clubs or anything so why not introduce you to my teammates. Maybe you will enjoy yourself," he continued to avoid eye contact, unsure where this niceness was coming from.

He heard nothing in return and took a bite of his burger. His eyes looked up to see the miko to continue her stare at him. Was something wrong with him? Something he had said to offend her? He blushed and swallowed his food again on his fifth burger: "Or you can come to one of our practices tomorrow…"

Taiga quickly heard a chuckle in response and looked at the girl smiling even more. She nodded: "I accept your invitation, Kagami-kun. Besides, I would like to become more involved with the school. Who knows, maybe I will learn a few things tomorrow and one day challenge you."

He smirked at her challenge: "You can challenge, but I will not go easy. It is basketball after all."

"Did not expect you to," she smiled back. She watched him resume on his eating before realizing he was already on his last burger: "But you know…that is a lot of food…"

"Hey! Do not judge!" he chewed, hearing her laugh again.

* * *

"I can walk by myself, you know?" Kagome looked ahead, watching as the lights in the street flickered lightly.

"Baka, my house is in this direction," Kagami scoffed, holding his basketball under his arm near his hip.

Kagome's eyebrow twitched, taking a mere glance at the taller male beside her. _'Did he just call me…a baka?'_ Kagome sighed and looked over to her left, seeing the empty basketball court outside fenced around. Stopping in her feet, she continued to stare at it silently.

The red head male walked forward a few steps ahead before stopping, noticing she was not next to him. Looking over his shoulder, he noticed her silent observation to the court. He brought the ball to his finger, spinning it effortlessly. "What? You want to play?"

Blinking out of her frozen state, her eyes glided to the corner, watching him with his cocky features. "I was just wondering what you and others in basketball see in the sport. I have never been this interested in a hobby."

Kagami caught the ball in his palm and took a few steps towards the miko. "It isn't a hobby. To me basketball is," his eyes narrowed down, "my life." His sight shifted over to the empty basketball court, slowly making his way towards it.

"Have you met the others in your team?" she questioned, following behind.

Something about the sport was calling to her, but maybe it was more than the sport. But who was she to know? She didn't even know what she wanted in life.

"Yeah, we had our little 'scan' yesterday," he scoffed.

"Scan?" she blinked, taken back by his use of word. "Um…what do you mean by that?"

"I have no idea," he shook his head as he began to dribble the ball lightly onto the ground. "Our coach is a woman."

"Being sexist now?" Kagome crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow.

"Chigau!" he glared at her.

"I am just playing," she laughed lightly as she set her school bag down onto a nearby bench. "So your coach is a female? What about it?"

He sighed: "She told us to take off our shirts and began to tell how physique with just one look."

"Hm, just with one look?" questioned Kagome, also interested in the talent. "Seems like she knows what she is doing then."

"Well, it is too soon to tell," he continued before shooting the ball and making it into the hoop.

Kagome grabbed the ball from under the net and threw it over to the red head. "And your teammates? What are they like?"

She received a scoff: "Also too early to tell, but there is one guy I can't sense anything from?"

"Sense? What are you?" she quickly received another glare. "I kid! I kid!"

He dribbled the ball once again before answering. "There is one kid who I can't sense anything. He just…magically appeared out of nowhere and he is said to have been part of this team called the Generation of Miracles back in middle school."

"Generation of Miracles?" blinked Kagome, leaning onto the hoop's pole.

"Whatever that is," he grunted. He aimed for another basket only to faintly see a person underneath the pole next to the miko. Loosening his focus, he shot the ball and cursed seeing the ball hit the edge of the hoop and bounce off. The ball landed on the blue haired male, his eyes straight into the stare of the tiger's. "When did you get here?" he asked with a bored look.

Kagome blinked, wondering who he was talking to. Looking over to her side, she jumped slightly upon seeing the familiar ghostly colored haired male. _'W-When did he get here?! I didn't sense anyone coming…'_

"Domo."

"Ah, you're the boy I bumped into the first day of school," spoke Kagome, turning to face the mysterious male. She blinked, surprised by his lack of presence. _'This kid…what is he?'_

"Yes," he replied. "Gomen, I didn't catch your name."

"Oh, Higurashi Kagome," she replied, still stunned by his presence.

"Kuroko Tetsuya," he introduced himself, seeing her cerulean eyes fixed onto his person, something he was fully used to, but something told him that the female was more intrigued by something entirely different.

"What the hell are you doing?" Kagami rested his hand on his hip, feeling the irritation from yesterday coming back.

"What are you two doing here?" he questioned back. He threw back the ball to its owner as it was caught easily into the red head's hands.

"Nothing," he replied. "We aren't doing anything."

"Is that so?"

There was a complete pregnant silence in between the trio, only having the miko look between the two basketball players. She blinked, thinking to herself. _'These two…they are first years right? So does that mean they both joined the basketball team?'_

"I was in America until my second year of middle school," Kagami spoke out, bringing her out of her thoughts and catching the other male's attention. "I have been appalled ever since I came back by how low the standards are here." His eyes narrowed down, making both the miko and Kuroko stand silently as he spoke. "I'm not looking to play basketball for fun. I want to play a more serious game that really gets me going."

' _What is it with this guy…?'_ Kagome moved a strand of hair back to her ear as the wind picked up. _'Is basketball…that serious of a game?'_

"I heard all about you," continued Kagami. "I have heard all about the supposedly strong Generation of Miracles from our year. You were on that team, weren't you? I have a pretty good sense of how good others are." He began to spin the ball onto his index finger again. "People who can succeed smell different from the rest."

He threw the ball towards Kuroko, grinning as he easily caught it into his hands.

"But something is not right with you. The weak should smell weak, but you…don't smell like anything," the eyes on the tiger tightened.

The miko could only watch as the expression on Kuroko remained unchanged. _'Okay what is he? A bloodhound now? What does he mean by smell anyways?'_ She shifted back her gaze over to the phantom. _'But he…was part of the Generation of Miracles? So…does that mean he is a good player?'_

"Your strength has no scent," Kagami continued on. "Let me see. Show me…just how good your Generation of Miracles really is. "

Kagome looked over at the red head: "Kagami-kun, please don't be picking up fights out of nowhere. He is your teammate after all."

"How fortunate," Kuroko began to take off his coat. "I have also been hoping to play against you. One on one."

"You want to go?" Kagami smirked, only receiving a questioning look from the miko. "Oi, Kagome! Keep score!"

"Nani?" she blinked; confused.

* * *

Kagome watched from the bench as they continued to play in their 'one on one' game. _'He…,'_ her attention was set on Kuroko most of the time as she was curious too on his play skills. _'He…is bad!'_ she sighed, dropping her head from the disappointment.

Continuing to hear the ball echo with each dribble, she sighed heavily once again as she brought her head back up and rested it on her palm. _'Keep score…what score? Kagami-kun has all the points! But even so…both are quite amazing in their own way. Perhaps Kuroko-kun could use that lack of presence to his advantage? Or maybe he already does if he was part of the Generation of Miracles.'_

"You've got to be kidding me," shouted Kagami, bringing her out of her inner thoughts.

She watched as Kuroko ran back to him with the ball in his hands, looking up to his height.

"Have you even been listening!?" he exclaimed. "How much do you have to overestimate your own abilities to think you can beat me!? I can't believe how arrogantly you challenged me!"

"Um…Kagami-kun," Kagome stood from the bench and walked over to the duo. This red head needed to cool down!

"You can't be serious," spoke Kuroko, stopping her from saying anything further. "Of course you're stronger than me. I knew that before we started."

Kagami quickly grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and brought him closer to his face. A glare quickly came back onto the red head's eyes. "You want a fight? What the hell do you think you are doing?"

Kagome quickly slapped Kagami by the back of his head, with much effort to her surprise due to his height. Damn. He was freaking tall! In response, Kagami let the blue haired male go and turned his attention to the female.

"Oi! What was that for!?"

"For being a baka," she replied, crossing her arms. "No need to turn to violence."

"This punk obviously wants to pick a fight!" he shouted back, anger swelling inside him.

"I wanted to see how good you are for myself," Kuroko cut into their small argument.

"What?" Kagami turned back his attention to Kuroko.

"Ano…," Kuroko raised the ball in his hands to catch the red head's attention.

"Enough…," sighed Kagami as he began to walk away and past the miko. "I am not interested in the weak. Let me tell you one last thing," he walked over to his things and grabbed his coat. "You should quit basketball. However much you try to cover it up with nice words like effort, raw talent is a fact of life. You have no talent for basketball."

Kagome glared at the male as he turned to leave. _'The nerve of this guy!'_

"I don't accept that," spoke Kuroko, stopping Kagami from leaving. The phantom player walked over to the bench, setting the basketball down. "First of all, I love basketball and I don't share your opinion. I don't acer who is strong or who is weak."

"What did you say?" glared Kagami.

"I'm not like you," added Kuroko. "I'm a shadow."

* * *

"Don't listen to him," Kagome spoke, walking over to her bag. She was left with Kuroko even after the red head had left angrily after the 'absurd' statement the phantom player stated. She gave him props for such a small guy talking back to such an intimidating person. She picked up the left basketball, seeing the owner completely forgot it in his fuel of anger.

"I hope you continue to love what you do," she smiled at the male next to her.

Kuroko blinked dully at the miko, wondering how she had even came into contact with the tiger.

"Have you joined a club?" he asked her, catching her by surprise.

Kagome looked over to him and shook her head, dropping her eyes back down. "I…haven't."

"I think you could be a good member and addition to the basketball team," he whispered to her as he began to put on his coat.

"Huh? The basketball team? Isn't this a men's team?" she blinked, surely he was kidding.

"Yes, yes it is. But why not become a manager or something?" he grabbed his own school bag and slowly made his way out. "I am sure that tiger needs some taming."

Kagome watched as he walked away from the court, leaving her in the hold of a basketball. Dropping her eyes once again to the orange object, her eyebrows furrowed.

' _Basketball…huh.'_


	2. Supportive Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seirin tries to recruit Kagome into their team as their manager. Their only hope is sending their first year duo to do the persuading.

* * *

"Hmm, what do I do with this?" Kagome's eyes remained on the ball on her hands. Even after arriving home, she had come to realize that the basketball she held belong to the red head. He had stormed off from the basketball court angry over Kuroko's way of thinking and stubborn thoughts of not leaving the basketball team.

And the miko still did not know what the heck she was thinking in bringing the basketball the next day at school. Sitting on her desk, she continued to stare at the orange ball as if it would give her the answer. With a low sigh, Kagome closed her eyes: "I guess I can go and find him to return it…," she opened her eyes, her eyebrow coming to a twitch at remembering his stubborn and hard-headed look. "I can just picture his glare already stabbing into me."

Shaking her head, the miko looked over towards the window and noticed the gym. _'So that is where they practice? Perhaps I can just go and drop by to give him his ball. After that…I will just leave.'_

Nodding to her own decision, she returned her attention back to the teacher as he walked in to start the lecture. _'How did I end up meeting such two different guys in less than a two week span?'_

* * *

The day had finally come to end – at least to her lectures. She had continued to fight her mind back and forth in going to the gym to return a simple ball that belong to the tiger, but she knew that it was only the right thing to do.

' _Besides…I don't have to stay there. Just leave the ball and leave yourself.'_ Before her mind could switch her decision, she slowly and quietly opened the door to the gym, only to stare at the teammates beginning a practice game between each other. The miko made her way to the nearby chair next to the exit and quietly sat, deciding it was not the right time to disrupt.

She began to observe the teammates Kagami so much spoke of the day before. Her eyes landed on those with the temporary blue shirts. Just by a glance, she could tell they were experienced in the sport compared to those in the yellow. Her cerulean eyes quickly caught notice of the target.

Kagami stood with that overconfident smirk, making her sigh. _'Well…confidence is not bad, but he could at least show some worry when playing.'_ The miko's ears soon caught the noise of a whistle, bringing her attention over to the only female with short brown hair.

' _That must the coach he was talking about,'_ Kagome placed the ball on her lap, deciding to wait until the game was over. On one end, she didn't mind waiting. Maybe watching a game could change her mind in joining? But then again, she really didn't want to become attached to anything any longer. She was tired of getting hurt and separated from the things and people she loved.

The miko shook her head, trying her best to release those held thoughts and feelings. Her eyes quickly widened watching as Kagami dunked the ball, making the first point in the game. He hung from the hoop for a second before coming back down onto his long legs.

"This is unbelievable," smirked a team player with glasses as he rubbed the sweat off his forehead. _'He is more than ready. He is a monster.'_

Kagome watched; shocked. The guy was making dunk after dunk with no effort at all. Was it even humanly possible to jump without getting tired? Sure, she was use to it as her life was mostly accustomed to seeing demons, but that was demons! Demons didn't exist in her time! This was a human!

"He…is strong," she whispered to herself, watching the tired expressions on the other team's faces. She blinked, coming back to view the features on the tiger's face only to see the anger she knew from yesterday rushing back. _'Why…is he angry? Don't tell me he is still angry over yesterday?'_

"A steal!?" shouted a player, catching all eyes back on the ball.

Kagome blinked, realizing the phantom player had been participating in the game. Coming with another blink, she watched as Kuroko's ball was stolen from his hands and into the blue's team.

Kagami ran beside the ghostly haired male, glaring as he tried to get the ball back into his hands. _'For all the profound things he says, he can't play for shit! Guys who are all talk…'_ he jumped up, blocking the opponent's dunk, _'piss me off more than anything!'_

"So high…," the miko whispered, still awed by not only his game play but the rest of the team. Her eyes rested on Kuroko's person: _'I am still curious what he meant by shadow…'_

As the game continued, the strategy had come to a change the moment three players on the blue team came to block Kagami's path. Wherever he tried to escape, one of the three would continue to close him in even further.

"They are…desperate to stop him," Kagome was awed that they felt threatened even with just one player and he didn't even have the ball in his hands. _'Well…I guess they acknowledged his skills.'_

The mild battle field of the sport continued with the blue team making most of the shots and the rest blocking the tiger's way. Her eyes landed on the scoreboard, finally realizing how the teams had been divided. _'I see…the blue team are the second-year students. So maybe the coach wanted to see what the first-years were made of?'_ She heard the sound of the ball hitting the net as it went in, seeing it was made by the male with glasses. "I have to admit they are good…"

"I…don't think I can keep on going. I have had enough…," whispered one of the first-years as he tried to catch his breath. He was suddenly grabbed by his shirt and brought up to face the red head.

"Enough? What the hell are you talking about!?" he shouted.

Kuroko quietly made his way behind the red head, bending his own knee into the back of Kagami's dropping him down a few inches.

"Please calm down," he told him.

Slowly and with anger, Kagami's head turned over his shoulder with a tick twitching on his forehead. "Teme…"

All first-years took a step back upon seeing the anger flashing from the tiger's eyes. The miko's eyebrow twitched, not really surprised to see the two clashing again. "They both need to stop fighting," she sighed, catching the coach's attention upon hearing her voice.

Looking over her shoulder, the coach dropped the whistle from her mouth and blinked, not recognizing the female. _'Huh? Who is she?'_

Feeling a pair of eyes on her, the miko looked ahead to see the short haired coach staring back at her. She stood from her seat and bowed slightly: "Uh…gomen. I just came to return this," she signaled to the ball in her hands watching as the coach made her way over to her.

"A basketball?" she questioned.

"H-Hai. It belongs to him," Kagome pointed over to the angry tiger as he was being held back his teammates from hitting the phantom player. "Um, can I just leave this here? I think you should turn your attention back onto those two before Kagami-kun jumps to hit Kuroko-kun."

"Huh? Kuroko-kun?" the coach looked over to the bickering and went wide eyed at the sight of the phantom player. _'H-How long has he been in?!'_

"Uh, here," Kagome caught the coach's attention again, extending the ball towards her. "I will leave before I interrupt anything," the coach blinked, unsure what to think. Before the coach could ask of her identity, both females were caught into the questioning eyes of the players as the yellow team began to score. The ball was being passed from an unknown place and into the yellow team's hand before they made into the hoop.

"It went in…what?" blinked the captain of the team. "How did that pass go through?"

"N-Nani?" whispered the coach. "Why do…I feel so uneasy?"

"Huh? What is going on?" questioned Kagome, watching as the ball was being invisibly passed to one yellow player after another without knowing the source. Even she knew that this was not a normal way of playing or passing the ball yet she was becoming a witness to it. The miko began to scan the court, trying to find whatever the possible reason.

"Is he using his lack of presence to pass?" whispered the female coach, her eyes set on Kuroko.

"Huh? You mean Kuroko-kun?" the miko questioned back.

"Uh, hai," she replied, nodding in her answer. "I saw it for a glimpse but he is not even touching the ball for very long. Could he be diminishing his already weak presence even more?"

"Is that even humanly possible?" Kagome raised an eyebrow.

The coach sighed: "It could be a way of misdirection. A technique used in sleight of hand. He is drawing his opponent's attention away from himself. To be more accurate, he is not using his lack of presence, but directing his opponent's attention elsewhere."

"Ah, so that is what he meant by shadow…," whispered Kagome, returning her attention on to the shorter team member.

The coach looked over to her side, seeing the focused attention the mysterious girl had on the game. Where had she come from? And from what she could hear, it seemed she had already made conversation with Kagami and Kuroko. "Do you…know those two?"

"Huh?"

"Kagami-kun and Kuroko-kun?"

"Ah, well," Kagome scratched her cheek as she held the ball with one hand to her hip, "more or less…sort of bumped into them under some situations. I witnessed to both of them having a one-on-one game in the street courts and had to stop Kagami-kun from pulverizing the other."

"You…stopped him?" blinked the coach. "Gomen, but what did you say your name was?"

"Oh, Higurashi Kagome," Kagome bowed her head slightly. "I apologize for coming in without notice…I was just planning on leaving this here since Kagami-kun forgot it yesterday in the court."

"Hm, so you actually were able to stop that big guy?"

Kagome blinked, unsure where she was getting at with that question, but simply nodded at her question.

A smile crept onto the coach's face: "I am Aida Riko, the basketball's coach."

"Ah, nice to meet you," Kagome nodded. "Um, so can I just leave this here?"

Kagome blinked upon feeling Riko's arm snake under hers and keeping her to her side. "You see, I can already feel I will have a hard time keeping that Kagami guy in check but since you said you were able to stop him in one of his fits without getting a yell yourself, I think having you would be beneficial."

"W-Wait…what?" Kagome's eyebrow twitched, confused on the whole thing. "What do you mean?"

"You will see," Riko's eyes flashed forward, watching as Kuroko's pass was given to Kagami, quickly making him dunk the ball and giving the scoreboard one point away from the second-years.

"Huh? They are already on one point difference?" whispered Kagome, watching as the blue and yellow teams began to worry.

All eyes widened watching as Kuroko caught the ball and began to run to the open hoop to make the shoot. Throwing the ball into the air, the basketball hit the hoop, making everyone gloom at the attempt. Kagami caught the bounced out ball and dunked in: "This is why I hate the weak!" His eyes dropped down to the smiling phantom player. "You have to make the shot, dumbass."

"There he goes again putting him down," sighed Kagome and quickly heard Riko blowing on the whistle to signal the end of the game.

"Alright! Time is up!" smiled Riko, finally letting go of Kagome's arm.

All males turned to face the coach and suddenly noticed the unknown female. The captain blinked: "Uh…oi, who is she?"

"Ah, Kagome-chan," called out Kuroko, walking over to the miko.

The miko gave him a nervous smile, already feeling the unwanted attention.

"Oi, so you decided to see the practice?"

Kagome turned over to see the tiger staring down at her. She blinked her attention away and extended his ball towards him: "Uh, well I came to return this. You left it yesterday at the court…"

Kagami blinked down to the orange object and took it in his hands: "Ah, right. Arigatou…"

"Are you blushing?" questioned Kuroko, coming to stand beside the red head.

He was quickly grabbed by the collar of his shirt and brought closer to the tiger's face. "Teme…you really are trying my patience!" His head hung down the moment the miko hit the back of his head, releasing the ghostly haired male.

"I told you to stop turning to violence," she glared at him. "Control that temper of yours!"

"You!" he shouted, glaring at the female.

Riko smirked and walked over to the miko: "You said your name was Kagome, right?"

Kagome turned her attention back to the coach: "Uh yeah…"

The female coach turned around to face the captain of the basketball team: "Hyuuga-kun? Can I have a word with you?"

"Huh? Me?" the captain known as Hyuuga pointed at himself before being dragged down to the corner of the gym.

Kuroko turned towards the miko, trying her best to ignore the glare coming from the tiger. "Hm, have you decided to join, Kagome-chan?"

"Join?" blinked Kagami, turning his face from the boy to the miko. "Join what?"

"The basketball team of course," he replied to his question.

"Baka, she can't join the basketball team! This is a men's team!" he exclaimed.

"That is what I said," Kagome walked over to her belongings, really trying to fluster over the looks from the rest of the basketball team.

"How on earth can she join!?" Kagami glared at the phantom male. "You really are making basketball a joke, aren't you?"

Kuroko blinked towards the tiger: "You really are dense when it comes to knowing how one can put their part in."

"Why you-!"

Kagome glared at the tiger: "Oi, stop it."

"You stop butting in!" he yelled back, coming towards the miko and facing her with a glare.

Returning back the glare, she held her school bag and sighed: "Look, all I came for was to return your basketball. If you excuse me, I will be going." The miko turned around only to feel a hand on her shoulder. Looking over, she noticed the coach with a suspicious smile that seemed nothing in the terms of sweet.

"Kagome-chan? By any chance have you joined a club?"

"She has not," cut in Kuroko, quickly receiving a shock and anger expression from the miko.

' _K-Kuroko-kun!? Don't be saying that!'_

"She wants to join the basketball club," he continued.

The miko quickly grabbed him by the collar of his shirt: "K-Kuroko-kun! I never said that!"

"Yes. Yes you did," he blinked innocently.

"I did not-!"

"Well that is great!" smiled Riko, clapping her hands together. "Why not become our manager? We need one and Hyuuga-kun and I could use the help since being captain and coach can be a heavy job itself! Besides," she gave a hidden smirk towards the miko, "I need you to control that guy right there."

All eyes landed on the red head, who seemed to be dumbfounded on the sudden stares.

"What?" he blinked, his eyebrow twitching. "Stop staring."

"So, is that yes?" smiled Riko.

"She is right though, we do need the help of a manager to do the other things in the basketball club," cut in Hyuuga, pushing in his glasses.

"I…uh…," Kagome let go of the boy in her hands before sighing and coming back to grab her school bag. "Can I think about it?"

Riko tapped her chin and looked between the tiger and phantom player. "Sure. I give you until tomorrow. Come here for our practice if you agree to join."

Kagome was left without words. What was she supposed to do? This guy behind her had practically drag her into joining and now it seemed the coach wanted her in. The reason still unknown to her. Nodding to her words, Kagome headed out the door, leaving the basketball team in silence.

"Oi, Kagami-kun," called out Riko as she crossed her arms.

"What?"

"Convince her."

"Eh!?" he exclaimed. "Why are you telling me!? She and I are not even close!"

"Start to," she smiled threateningly. "Now…go convince her!"

"Yes, go Kagami-kun," added Kuroko, earning a death glare from the tiger.

* * *

' _What am I going to do?'_ sighed Kagome as she walked down the side walk. She was deep in thought about the whole thing. Sure, she found the sport interesting and even more after watching them play, but she didn't want the attention. She just wanted a relaxing life.

The miko stopped in her tracks and looked over to the clouds. But would her friends in the feudal era like for her to close herself and be alone? She promised them to live her life and although she was breathing, she knew she was not living.

' _Maybe I should join? Perhaps…this is what I need…,'_ Kagome resumed her walk only to stop at the sudden call of a familiar voice.

"Oi!"

Looking over her shoulder, the miko blinked a couple of times upon seeing the tiger already in his school uniform and walking towards her with his school bag over his shoulder.

"What do you want?" she asked, turning to face him.

"Follow me," he answered as he walked past the miko.

"Huh? Follow you? Why?" she didn't move an inch, making the red head stop in his tracks.

Looking over his shoulder, he sighed and looked away from her eyes: "Just come."

"Should I trust you on this? Or are you going to be chewing my head off?" her eyebrow raised; questioningly.

"Chigau!" he shouted. "Why do you question and accuse me on things!?" he exclaimed, only to be taken back by her light laugh.

"Gomen! Gomen! I am only teasing you," she regained her posture and looked towards him. "Alright, I will follow you."

He nodded and walked ahead not even realizing the miko coming to look to her side and slightly jump from the scare. Kagome blinked a few times before realizing that Kuroko had appeared out of nowhere. She whispered to him: "W-When did you get here?"

"I was here the whole time, Kagome-chan," he replied, continuing to walk behind her.

"You…were not," she blinked. She really needed to start sensing this guy's aura.

"I assure you that I was," he nodded and looked at her from the corner of his eyes. "He hasn't noticed that I was following him."

Kagome looked from the taller male to the boy beside her: "He…hasn't?"

He shook his head.

"Well…I am glad I am not the only one getting a scare from you."

* * *

Kagome drank from her milkshake, watching as Kuroko grabbed his own cup and began to drink. Kagami had ended up leading her to the same fast food restaurant from the day before and he had told her to order whatever she liked; it was on him.

With a simple milkshake, she had come to sit beside the phantom boy as he had ordered his own drink.

"What flavor?" she asked him.

"Hm?"

"What flavor did you get?" she questioned him again.

"Vanilla," he replied.

"Ah," she nodded. "I have always preferred chocolate for some reason." It was surprising to her that the tiger had no realized the presence of the male. Even after she had said she would be sitting down with _him._ She guessed Kagami had disregarded the whole _him_ part as he was busy ordering his dozen of burgers.

Her attention was brought ahead, watching as Kagami set his tray full of wrapped burgers and setting his school bag down on the ground beside his chair. The whole table was silent as her eyes remained on the tiger while he unwrapped one burger and took a bite. His eyes widened, realizing the boy sitting next to her and he began to choke on the food. Coughing his scare, he blinked in shock at the sudden view. The girl was sitting with Kuroko!? Since when!? How come he didn't see it as he was walking towards them!?

"Domo," greeted Kuroko.

"Where did you come from!?" he exclaimed.

"He has been here the whole time," answered Kagome. "He came with us from school."

"Uso!" he shouted back. "How come you didn't tell me anything!?" he turned his question onto the girl.

She merely shrugged and took a sip of her milkshake, turning her head to the window.

"Don't ignore me!"

"I followed behind to see if you would listen to coach's words," spoke Kuroko. "And I knew you would take her here, so I followed. Besides…I like this place's vanilla milkshakes."

Kagome's eyebrow rose: _'Coach's words? Did Aida-san say something to Kagami-kun?'_

"Well, go somewhere else," scoffed Kagami. "If people see us, they will think we are friends."

"This is my usual hangout," he replied back.

Kagami sighed and looked away before handing them both a burger. "Here. You two are such a pain."

Catching the burger into their hands, both teens looked at it questioningly. Kuroko sent him a smile: "Arigatou."

Kagome raised her eyes to the tiger: "Coach's words? What did he mean by that?"

Kagami quickly flinched at the memory of what Riko had ordered him to do. He remained silent and took another bite of his food as he turned his head to the side and stared outside the window. Seeing she was not going to get an easy direct answer from him, her attention turned to the boy beside her.

"So? What is it?"

"Kagami wants you in the club."

"Teme!" glared Kagami. "I didn't say that!"

"Eh?" Kagome blinked, surprised by the direct words. She turned her attention to the tiger. "Really?"

"No! ...wait! That isn't what I meant!" He hid his head into his palm and sighed. "Look, it seems our coach really wants you in our club so she told me to convince you. I don't see why she ordered me to do it but if it gets her off my back, then fine."

"But he really wants you in the club," cut in Kuroko as he began to unwrap his burger.

"Oi!" he grabbed the burger off his hands. "I take it back! You are really butting in too much!"

Kuroko simply stared and argued back on that it really is what he wanted. The miko blinked, watching their interaction before a small smile appeared on her lips and slowly unwrapped her food. Taking a bite, she looked out the window, watching as the sun completely rested away.

* * *

"So?" questioned Kagami, walking beside the miko. He looked from the corner of his eyes as the miko and Kuroko walked down the sidewalk with him. "How strong are the Generation of Miracles? If I played them now, how would I do?"

Kuroko sipped on his milkshake before answering: "You would be destroyed instantly."

A nerve struck onto Kagami's forehead: "Do you have to put it like that!?"

"Are they really that strong?" asked Kagome, holding onto her own drink in her hands as she walked between the two basketball players.

"The five prodigies have each gone on to play for their own schools. One of those schools will stand at the top."

Kagami let out a laugh: "That's great."

"You seem to be very amused by this," spoke Kagome, turning her head to the red head.

"That's the kind of thing that lights a fire in me," he smirked. "I've decided. I'll crush all of them and become Japan's best player."

Both teens remained silent, watching the determination coming from Kagami's face.

"I don't think that is possible," cut in Kuroko, striking the same nerve on Kagami.

"Oi!"

"If you have hidden talent, I wouldn't know," he continued. "But from what I have seen, you wouldn't even reach their feet."

The three crossed the intersection and were stopped at the end as Kuroko stood in front of the two. The male looked towards their eyes. "But you can't do it alone…so I have decided. I am a shadow. But the stronger the light, the darker the shadow and the more it accentuates the brightness of the light. I will be the shadow to your light, Kagami-kun."

Kagami smirked: "Look who is talking. Do whatever you want."

Kuroko nodded and turned his attention to the miko: "But a shadow needs more than one light. Sometimes a light can begin to flicker and lose its dim…that is when another bright light comes in to support the other light to help the shadow become stronger."

The miko stood silent to his words, only feeling both his eyes and the tiger's on her person.

"So? Will you join the basketball club, Kagome-chan?" he questioned. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments would be appreciated! I will try to post the rest of the chapters as fast as possible! Thank you for reading!


	3. Taking the Risk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagome gives it some thought on joining the Seirin basketball club, but a certain player might be able to convince her to join.

Kagome's focus was drawn out to the window beside her. Her whole mind was set on Kuroko's words the night before. Her ears had completely blocked out the lecture and talks of other students, wondering on what the right decision was. The miko dropped her head down onto her arms, burying her face in. _'After Kuroko-kun asked if I wanted to join the basketball club I still ended up saying that I was in doubt.'_ A heavy sigh escaped her lips: _'At least he didn't push the question further. We all had to go our separate ways.'_

Her head rose, hearing as students began to stretch out during their break in between classes. The miko slowly stood and headed out towards the hallway for fresh air. _'I know I am over thinking this…but I guess I am just afraid-'_

"Oh? You are the girl from yesterday."

Kagome turned her head over her shoulder, blinking at the black haired male she recognized as the captain of the basketball club.

"Higurashi Kagome, correct?" he blinked while adjusting his glasses.

Nodding to his question, she parted her lips to ask back for his name only to see a small smile on the male's face.

"Ah, gomen. Hyuga Junpei," he introduced himself. "I'm a second year student here."

Kagome bowed slightly at her senior: "Nice to meet you." Where had he even come from? Usually upperclassmen never bothered in coming into the first year's hall. Or had she walked that far from her own class? Kagome looked above, reading the class sign. _'2-B?!'_ She was in the second year's hall!

The miko returned her attention back to the basketball captain: "Ah, gomen, I guess I was lost in my thoughts I didn't realize I had come here."

"No worries," he nodded. "Actually, I was going to ask people for your class location to speak with you."

"With…me?" she blinked.

"Riko told me about you and how you seemed to be familiar with Kuroko and Kagami," he continued. "I presume that Kagami went over to look for you last night?"

"Yeah," she scratched her cheek, "along with Kuroko-kun."

"Oh? Really?" he blinked, surprised that the phantom player had tagged along with such a big guy. "Well, I wanted to inform you about the club forms."

Kagome blinked, looking down as Hyuga passed her a paper. "What is this?"

"The official club form to join the basketball club. Although Riko wants you as the manager, there is other separate paperwork you would need to pick up from the administration office."

The miko's eyes met his and she shook her head: "Wait…I haven't agreed to this."

Hyuga's eyebrow rose; questioningly. "You are still giving it thought?"

"Well…yes," she replied, dropping her gaze. "I have a lot…going on with my mind so I am not sure if joining a club would be the best thing right now."

"Hm," Hyuga crossed his arms, "well, just so you know, Riko hasn't given Kuroko and Kagami official forms yet so technically speaking they are not part of the club officially."

"Huh?"

Hyuga sighed: "If you don't make a decision, you might end up regretting it. I was like you once, thinking of not joining anything. Sometimes taking risks without knowing what the future has in store can be the exciting part in life. I can see the potential in you especially if Riko noticed it in you." The captain pushed in his glasses. "Riko is only going to accept the forms on Monday at 8:40…on the roof."

He turned around and waved his goodbye: "Well, ja-ne! And good luck. I do hope you make the right decision."

The miko's eyes dropped down onto the form in her hands. _'On…the roof? Why the roof?'_

* * *

As lunch rolled around, the miko continued to stare at the form in her hands while walking through the hallway. Her eyes caught notice of a newspaper clipping on the bulletin board. She noticed the picture of the captain shooting the ball as she read the headline.

"Men's basketball rookie game – Kanto Tournament Debut…," Kagome continued to read as she sipped on her juice box. Even after having a small lunch with her three friends, she told them she needed time for herself to think over some things. She was still in doubt of even speaking to her friends about the subject as she was sure they would pretty much force her so she could introduce them to some members.

Another sigh passed her lips: "What should I do?"

"Talking to yourself?"

Kagome turned around with the straw in her mouth and quickly spitted out the liquid onto Kagami's face.

"Oi!" he shouted, shooting her a glare.

"Don't scare me like that!" she yelled back defensively.

Hearing him groan, she reached into her skirt's pocket and took out a handkerchief: "Here…gomen."

"Hmph," the tiger took the handkerchief into his hand and wiped off the juice from his face. "First the coach and now you."

"Coach?" she blinked.

"Yeah…I went to go see her to get an official club form," he sighed. "Apparently that Kuroko guy went for one too."

"I see," she whispered.

Kagami's eyes landed onto the form in her other hand. Raising an eyebrow, he pointed to the paper: "You went to go see her too?"

"Huh? Oh no…Hyuga-senpai gave it to me."

"Hyuga? The captain?" he blinked, surprised that the guy had even given her a form.

She nodded: "Hai. He…told me that I should join as their official manager."

The tiger looked over at the news clipping on the bulletin board, his eyes roaming down to the team's group picture. "They weren't kidding yesterday when they were playing against us."

"Yes, they are strong."

Kagami looked over towards the miko and blinked: "You think?"

"I...didn't say anything," she blinked back.

Both teens looked over to their left and jumped upon seeing Kuroko's person staring at the same paper. Kagami's eyes narrowed down: "Why can't you show up normally!? Stop coming out of nowhere!"

Kagome quickly covered Kagami's mouth receiving a death glare from the tiger. Kuroko placed his index finger on his lips and pointed up at the sign above them reading that they were next to the library. Kagami's nerve twitched on his forehead before grabbing Kuroko's head in his hand and held Kagome's hand down.

"You two are making fun of me?" he growled. He turned his head to the miko: "You two are really making fun of me, aren't you!?"

"No," replied the phantom player.

Kagome winced: "K-Kagami-kun…let us go. Your grip is too tight…"

Realizing the firm grip his hands had on both Kuroko and Kagome, he let them go and sighed.

"Baka!" Kagome slapped his arm gently. "I told you to stop resenting to violence."

"Stop hitting me!" he exclaimed back.

"Itai…," Kuroko rubbed his head as he fixed his hair.

Kagome turned around to face the ghostly haired male: "Are you okay, Kuroko-kun-?" She blinked, watching as his person had disappeared. "Huh?" Looking around, she could feel the anger and irritation once again coming from the tiger.

"That bastard is really making fun of us…," Kagami's fist tightened.

The miko's eyebrow twitched: _'If I join the basketball club…I have to deal with these two…'_

* * *

' _Well…here goes…,'_ after giving much thought at home during the weekend, the miko returned the next day and stood outside the roof's entrance door. Her eyes remained glued on her signature below the paper. _'Take risks…that is what I did in the feudal era. I battled demons, purified the darkest creatures and humans, and went through victories and heartbreaks. If I was able to overcome it all…then I can certainly do this.'_ The miko slowly opened the door and shut her eyes away from the bright sunlight. Slowly, her eyes adjusted to her surroundings and was met with not only the couch of the basketball club, Riko, but the first-years entering the club as well.

"Ho-ho-ho," smirked Riko, crossing her arms as she watched the miko slowly walking towards them. "I am happy to see you here, Kagome-chan. I have been waiting for you."

"Are you stupid?" blinked Kagami, watching the smug look on the girl.

"Is this a duel?" whispered Kuroko; sarcastically.

Kagami sighed and scratched the back of his head: "Geez, can we just turn in our papers?"

The miko held her paper in her hands as she spoke: "Ano…I know you said you would only be accepting the forms today at 8:40…but on Mondays-"

Kagami's eyes widened, realizing what she was going to say. "The morning assembly is in five minutes, baka!" The tiger took out the form from his pocket: "Here. Hurry up and take it."

The miko's eyes glided over to the bar, watching the morning assembly down below. _'Wait a minute…if we get caught…we are in so much trouble! We can't be skipping the morning assembly on Mondays!'_ She returned her attention back to the coach. "Here."

The smirk on Riko's lips stretched: "Before that, I have something to tell you all. I made a promise to the captain last year when he asked me to become the coach. I promise to focus solely on pushing the team towards the national championship. If you don't think you are ready for that, there are other clubs better suited for you."

"Huh? Of course I am-"

Riko cut the tiger off: "I know you're strong, but I need to know you have something even more important. No matter how hard you practice, the words of 'maybe' aren't good enough. I need to know you have ambitious goals and the will to accomplish them." Riko extended her arm out towards the rail: "Give me your year, class and name! Announce your goals here and now. If you fail to achieve them, you'll come back here and…," her eyes tightened into a threatening glare, "you will strip naked and confess your feelings for the girl you love."

She gave them a smile: "All the second years did it last year."

Koki blinked, fear already beginning to consume him at the thought of coming naked and to top it all off – confession. "What? No one told me about this."

"Ano, I just came to turn in the form," Kagome walked forward, earning a grin from the coach.

"Oh, you aren't off the hook, Kagome-chan. You will do it too!"

"Eh!? Chotto matte! You can't be serious about this?!" she exclaimed. "I mean I can understand the basketball players…"

"Oi," Kagami's eyebrow twitched seeing that the miko was going to fully turn the punishment on them.

"But…me?" she continued.

"Well, I wouldn't have you strip naked of course," Riko crossed her arms, "but I would make you confess your love to the guy you like."

"Don't like anyone," she stated back.

"Oh, I am sure there is," she smirked.

"Nope."

"She can go ahead and go on a date with a guy," Kuroko walked forward and receiving a glare from the miko.

"Kuroko-kun! Stop giving suggestions!"

"I like the idea," smiled Riko. "Well? Who is first? Like I said before, I am looking for something concrete and reasonably ambitious. You will have to do better than just saying 'do my best'."

Kagome's shoulder slumped down in defeat, seeing she was cornered into doing what she wanted. Why on earth was she even doing this!? She could easily just leave and not join the club! Her mind flashed back to Hyuga's words, making her shake her head over the doubts that were beginning to pour into her mind.

"This will be easy," smirked Kagami. "This isn't even a test." Walking past the miko, Kagami approached the rail and effortlessly jumped on top. Standing tall, he smirked down at the assembly. "Class 1-B, number five, Kagami Taiga. I will defeat the Generation of Miracles and become the best player in Japan!"

Hyuga's eyebrow twitched: _'Eh…is she doing that again this year?'_

Jumping down from the railing, Kagome was awed by his display of courage. Her eyes trailed his person as he walked past her with that same smirk he always held when playing. He stopped beside her: "So? Are you going to go?"

"Who's next? If you don't hurry, the teachers will be coming here soon," Riko turned over and looked at the other basketball members. Their eyes traveled over to the other three first-years as they made their way to the rail one-by-one and yelled out their own set of goals. It seemed the coach was content with the things she was hearing, but what was she supposed to say?

Kagome took notice of the coach's eyes set on her, signaling to go next. Gulping, she felt Kagami's hand on her shoulder. Looking up, she watched his eyes avoiding her own.

"Just go. It isn't that bad. Go and get it over with."

"Kagome-chan?" smirked Riko, calling her out to the rail.

Nodding slowly, the miko walked towards the rail and placed her hands on the bar. Her eyes observed the group of students down below and took a deep breath in. What was her goal in joining the basketball club? To get stronger? Find a hobby? What was it?

Closing her eyes, she slowly opened them: "Class 1-C, basketball club's manager, Higurashi Kagome!" Gripping the bar beneath her hands, she parted her lips once more. "I don't really have a set goal at the moment for joining, but I am willing to take the risk and see where life takes me from here! I am set on working hard for these guys and making sure to help in any way I can!" Coming back to a normal breathing pace, she felt Riko's hand on her shoulder.

"Good."

Kagome nodded and gave her a smile.

"Alright? Is that it?" nodded Riko.

"Sumimasen."

Riko turned around and jolted slightly at the sight of Kuroko.

"I'm not good at speaking loudly, so could I use this?" he took out a megaphone and showed it to the coach.

Kagome's eyebrow twitched: "Where did you even get that, Kuroko-kun?"

Kuroko turned around towards the railing and opened his mouth towards the megaphone. Before his voice could escape, the door was abruptly opened and revealed a teacher with an obvious angry expression.

"Hey! The basketball club, again!?"

"Crap, and were almost finished," cursed Riko.

All were instructed to set on the ground as the teacher walked forward and began to scold them. The miko sighed, looking over at the coach. "Not really expected to get scolded already," she whispered to her.

"You will get used to it," she rolled her eyes, trying to tune out scold. "Also," she winked, "don't forget to get the manager papers from the administration office."

"Hai, hai," she closed her eyes.

"I warned you last year," glared the teacher, placing his hands on his hips. "Didn't you say you would never do this again? You should know what is right and wrong at your age!"

Kagome sighed once again: _'Why do I have the feeling this is only the start of a weird beginning…'_

* * *

"Let see…," Kagome looked down at the papers in her hands. As she was instructed by the coach, once classes were over, she headed to the administration office and requested for the manager contract papers. After some instructions and information she was given, she was given a small stack with her own copy and a list of her upcoming responsibilities.

Her eyes blinked, going over the list. "Who knew a manager for a sports team would be taking care of so much. Hm?" her eyes set on a particular job. "Ordering uniforms? Hmm…I guess I can start with that one once I get home."

Looking down at her watch, she watched as Riko skipped in front of her. The coach looked to her right and smiled at the miko: "Oh, konnichiwa, Kagome-chan."

"K-Konnichiwa," she blinked, seeing it abnormal to the skipping. "Um, you seem awfully happy."

"I am," she smirked. "I have a huge surprise for the boys!"

"A…surprise?" she repeated.

Nodding, Riko turned back around: "Well, I will see you at the gym, Kagome-chan! Don't be late! Be there in five minutes!"

The miko was left alone, watching as the coach resumed in her skipping towards the gym. Kagome nodded and before she could take a few steps forward, she was suddenly shocked to see a flock of girls coming in a clump. The squealing and screaming was beginning to make her eyebrow twitch, unsure why the girls were behaving so.

"Ugh…," Kagome looked up, left, and right to find a way to pass through and get to the gym before Riko chewed her head on the first day, but the girls wouldn't budge. "E-Excuse me," she managed to choke out her words, but gasped as soon as another wave of girls came from behind and pushed her in the crowd.

The rush and push of the girls caught her trapped inside until Kagome was pushed further in and into a person. Kagome cursed under her breath as she fell on her knees and heard the gasps of girls. The miko could almost feel the glares belonging to them stabbing onto her back. Her eyes focused on the scattered papers and she groaned. _'Great…'_

"You need to apologize!" a girl shouted.

"Yeah! You have no right to be pushing down a model!"

"Apologize!"

' _Model?'_ Kagome looked up at the tight glares she was receiving.

"Ma, ma, no need to yell at her."

Kagome blinked at the offering hand. Trailing the arm upwards, she was met with a golden gaze. This guy…was too good looking for a high school student! And that blonde hair was way too abnormal, she turned her head to the side: _'Then again…Kuroko has blue hair and yet no one seems to take notice of him.'_

"Are you hurt?" he questioned her.

Shaking her head, she placed her hand on his and was helped back up onto her feet. A small chuckled escaped the blonde's lips: "I apologize for the sudden…push. Here," he quickly collected her papers only to stop at the title. "Seirin's Basketball Manager?" His golden orbs met her cerulean eyes. "You are the basketball club's manager?"

"Ah, yes," she nodded.

"Oh?" he smirked. Looking over to the flock of his fans, he sent them a smile: "You girls could give me five minutes? I need to go meet up with a friend." He turned back towards the miko: "My friend must be at the gym practicing, do you mind showing me the way?"

"Huh?"

* * *

"A practice game against Kaijou High School?" exclaimed Hyuga as everyone gathered around the coach and gave out her announcement.

"That's right," she nodded. "They won't disappoint us. We will put plenty of first years on the court."

"Disappoint us?" questioned Shinji. "They are way better than us."

"Are they really that good?" asked Hiroshi.

Hyuga sighed: "They're strong at the national level. They play in the Inter-High every year."

"And this year, Kaijou got their hands on one of the Generation of Miracles, Kise Ryouta."

Kagami gave himself a smirk: _'I never thought I would get to play them so soon. What a blessing! I'm getting excited!'_

"Apparently, Kise works as a model," added Hyuga, turning to his members.

"Seriously!? Amazing…," sighed Shinji. "Good looking and good at basketball? That is brutal…"

"Baka," sighed Riko, closing her eyes.

"Ano, where is Kagome-chan?" questioned Kuroko, catching all eyes. "Isn't she supposed to be here?"

"Hm, yeah," Riko crossed her arms. "She is already late and I just saw her outside with her papers so I know she isn't at the administration office."

All eyes landed on the gym door as it began to open. The miko walked in and turned to team members. Leaving the door open, she clutched her papers to her chest and flinched upon seeing Riko's glare on her.

"You are late!" she yelled.

"G-Gomen…," she whispered. "I was…caught up on something."

"On what?" Riko's eyebrow rose.

"Gomen! It is my fault she is late!"

Seirin's attention was on the tall blonde male coming to stand behind the miko. He gave them a smile: "I didn't mean for this to happen to her knowing she is your manager, but I needed some guidance."

Riko's eyes scrunched, lost at the sight of the familiar person. _'What is the Generation of Miracles' Kise Ryouta doing here?'_

Kuroko gave him a slight bow from his head, realizing Kise's eyes were set on his own. "It is good to see you again."

"Good to see you," he replied back.

"Kise Ryouta…," whispered Hyuga.

Kagome blinked, looking from her team to the blonde behind her. _'Hm? Kuroko-kun seems to know him…a friend of his?'_

Hyuga's eyes blinked a few times: "W-What are you doing here?"

"Well, when I heard our next opponent was Seirin," he walked forward and stopped in front of Kuroko, "I remembered Kurokocchi went here so I thought I would come say hi. We were the best of friends in middle school."

"Not any more than anyone else," he replied back.

"Hidoi!" Kise rubbed his eyes childishly.

"Kise Ryouta. Though he started basketball his second year of middle school, his exceptional physical ability and sense got him on the Teiko team as a regular in a heartbeat. While he has less experience than the other four, he is a rapidly improving all-rounder," Koki read from the magazine he held in his hands, knowing that everyone around was listening.

"That article exaggerated quite a bit," Kise laughed lightly, scratching the back of his head. "I'm glad to be called part of the Generation of Miracles, but I'm the worst of the bunch. They bullied me and Kurokocchi for it all the time."

"That never happened to me," replied Kuroko.

"Nani!? It was just me?!"

' _So he is part of the Generation of Miracles,'_ Kagome walked past him and felt a sudden hand on her head. Trailing the owner of the arm, she noticed the same smile on the blonde. "Um…"

"Gomen," he smiled at her and placed his hands inside his pants' pockets, "I should apologize to you for making you late."

Kagome blinked: "I-It's alright…"

"So what is a kawaii girl like you doing as their manager?" he raised an eyebrow and inched closer to the miko, making her take a step back. His eyes quickly glided to the corner, watching a basketball fly towards him. Kise's hand extended out, blocking it with his palm.

Kise's eyes narrowed down upon realizing the person who had thrown the ball towards him. Kagami's smirk widened along with his glare tightening. "Leave her out of this. I know you didn't come just for a reunion and to flirt your way with this school."

"K-Kagami-kun!" shouted Riko.

"Kagami!" glared Hyuga, surprised that the tiger had thrown the ball to one of the Generation of Miracles.

Kagome sighed, her eyes dropping down to the ball used as a provocation. _'He will never learn…'_

Kise shook his palm: "Itai! What was that for? You almost hit the manager..."

Kagami scoffed: "Why don't you play with me a little, pretty boy?"

"What? I don't know if I am ready," he replied.

Kagome took a step forward: "Oi! Kagami-kun! That was unnecessary and rude! You know you shouldn't be throwing balls like that to people!"

"He blocked it!" he argued back, taking a step towards her. He met her eyes in a glare battle, before blinked as they noticed Kise's hand landing on Kagome's shoulder.

"I appreciate the protection," smirked Kise and moved his gaze towards the tiger. "Fine, let's do it. I have to thank you for that display. Besides, I made your kawaii manager late because of me, so I guess I can cover one of your requests."

"Unbelievable," sighed Riko, as she and the rest of the team moved away.

"This could be bad," whispered Kuroko, catching Kagome off guard. Kuroko grabbed her wrist: "We should leave them be."

"Uh, wait…," she felt her body being dragged away from the middle of the court.

"Kagomecchi?"

"Huh?" Kagome looked over her shoulder, noticing the same serious smirk on the blonde's lips. Since when did he know her name?

"Ah, gomen, I took notice of your name on the forms," he chuckled. "But sorry for dragging you here and having the girls push you like that, I hope you can forgive me?"

"Oi!" glared Kagami, a tick of annoyance pulsed on his forehead. "Over here!"

"Hai, hai!" Kise turned back around and grabbed the ball of the ground after removing his jacket and throwing it out to the side. "One-on-one, then?"

"Keh, bring it," Kagami smirked.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments would be much appreciated! I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter!


	4. Finding the Weakness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seirin's first game in the season starts with a practice game against Kaijou and their newest member: Kise Ryouta!

Kagome watched silently with the rest of the team as Kagami and Kise took half the court to play their one-on-one. Her eyes widen a tiny bit as she quickly took notice of the way Kise's eyes fooled the tiger in the direction he intended to go. _'Baka…watching an opponent's eyes is always important, but you should look at their feet too.'_ The miko shook her mental thoughts: _'What the heck? Am I seriously thinking this over like Inuyasha use to fight? Ugh…they are human, Kagome! Human!'_

Riko gasped lowly, watching as Kise copied on of Kagami's moves and quickly jumped upwards to dunk the ball. Kagome blinked: "Did…he just copy Kagami's way of dunking?"

Riko nodded slightly: "It isn't simple imitation…"

Kagami jumped after him, extending his arm upwards to block the ball on for Kise's dunk to push him off his balance and score. The tiger fell to the ground, his eyes tightening as he watched the smug look of the blonde's face.

Kagome was speechless to say the least to the few seconds of game play that she was demonstrated with. She never knew such people had talent and strength for a simple sport. Human nonetheless. "This is…the Generation of Miracles," she whispered. "You sure have some interesting friends, Kuroko-kun."

"I don't know that person," he replied, his eyes focused on the blonde player. "To be honest, I may have underestimated him until just now. It's only been a few months since I left them, but the Generation of Miracles has improved far more quickly than I expected."

Kagome returned her attention back to the two boys, watching as Kagami grunted onto his legs. Kise scratched the back of his head: "I don't know about this. After something so disappointing, I can't just leave now."

' _Disappointing?'_ blinked Kagome. _'Is that an insult?'_

Kise's footsteps made their way towards the phantom player, smirking as he did. "Give us Kurokocchi." He stopped in front of the male as he placed his hands inside his pockets. "Come join us. Let's play basketball together again."

The team's eyes widened by his words of persuading the player onto his team. The miko slowly looked over to the silent phantom player: _'Is…he being serious?'_

"I seriously respect you, Kurokocchi," smiled Kise. "It's a waste of your talent to stay here. What do you say?"

The miko's eyes scrunched at his words only to place her hand on Kuroko's shoulder, catching both his and Kise's attention. She sent the blonde a smile: "Gomen, but Kuroko-kun can't leave. You see, because of him, I became part of this club and he made a promise to Kagami-kun and I to work together to become the best team in Japan."

Kuroko's lips curved into a small smile upon hearing her words. If anything, it seemed the girl was already getting attached to them and the team. Turning his head back to Kise, he parted his lips to speak.

"I am honored to hear you say that. I must respectfully decline your offer."

"T-That doesn't make any sense!" exclaimed Kise, surprised that the girl and even his longtime friend were both on the same page. "Besides, this isn't like you. Winning was everything! Why didn't you go somewhere better?"

"My thinking has changed since then," he replied back. "More importantly, just as Kagome-chan said, I made her and Kagami-kun a promise. One that I intend to keep. We will beat the Generation of Miracles together."

Kise's eyebrows furrowed: "It really isn't like you to joke around like that."

Kagami laughed behind the blonde, smirking as everyone's attention was drawn towards the grinning tiger. "Oi," called Kagami, "Kagome, Kuroko, stop stealing the words I was going to say."

Kagome's eyebrow twitched: _'Again with that cocky smirk…'_

The miko blinked upon feeling a pair of eyes on her. Looking up, she noticed Kise's golden orbs right on her person paired with a smirk. "Seems like you have something to do with these guys acting this way."

"Huh?" blinked Kagome once again.

The blonde learned down towards her, making her lean back. "It isn't just because of your kawaii looks. What is special about you, Ka-Go-Me-Cchi?" Kise was met with a stack of papers in front of his face, blocking his view from observing the miko.

Kagome's eyes dropped down to a blank and bored expression. "Please don't invade my personal space."

Chuckling on her actions, Kise retreated back and nodded: "I can see why they are fond of you."

Kagome's eyebrow lifted in question. Feeling a hand on her own shoulder, she looked to see the coach smiling: "Kise, if you don't mind, these guys need to return to their practice."

"Hai, hai," he waved them off and turned towards the exit. "Ah! Arigatou again Kagomecchi for showing me the way!"

"Kagome…cchi?" blinked Kagome. She looked towards Kuroko: "Does he do that to everybody? The nickname I mean."

"No. Only people he respects," he replied.

"Respects…?" she whispered before turning back to see the blonde basketball player leaving.

Kise winked at the team: "Practice hard, Seirin! Can't wait until I see you all again!" With one last chuckle, he left the gym, leaving the Seirin team in silence.

"Can't believe you actually spoke back to one of the Generation of Miracles, Kagome-chan," blinked Hyuga, grabbing the miko's attention.

"Huh?"

"Yeah," laughed Shinji. "We expected Kagaom to open his mouth, but not you."

Kagami's eyebrow twitched at the insult: "Oi."

Looking down, Kagome scratched her cheek, confused herself that she had done so too. She felt Riko patting her back, bringing her up from her embarrassment. "Welcome to the basketball club, Kagome-chan!"

Kagome blinked, watching as everyone gave her a smile before turning to see Kuroko and Kagami. Kuroko sent her a small smile while the tiger looked away with a blush. The phantom player looked towards the red head: "Is that another blush?"

Kagami quickly grabbed Kuroko's head: "You little-!"

The miko sighed as the both began to argue. _'And I thought we were progressing with this…'_

* * *

"Sugoi," blinked Kagome, looking at the enormous school ahead of her as she stood at the entrance of the gates. She looked from side to side and could tell the school definitely put in some budget into modeling the school. "Who knew Kaijo High would be…so up there in money. Then again, someone like Kise-kun does attend this place so that says a lot."

The miko looked down at the first aid kit bag. _'Alright, I think I brought everything. First-aid kit, clipboard and pen.'_ She sighed: _'The day went by so fast. I wasn't even listening to today's lectures because I was only focused on the basketball game! After yesterday's little surprise visit from Kise, the whole team began to practice as hard as they could. All Riko-senpai told me was to grab these things for today's practice game. Here I thought I go get here early to find the gym for them, but just by looking at this place…I know I will get lost!'_

"Oh? Kagome-chan! You are here early!"

Looking behind her shoulder, Kagome smiled as the team along with Riko walked over to her. Riko gave her a smile: "I am surprised you are here before us."

"Well, I wanted to try and find the gym so I can guide you all there…but," Kagome laughed nervously while scratching the back of her head, "I got so overwhelmed by the size of the school."

"Look at you being so responsible on your first official day as our manager," smirked Riko. "I knew I made the right decision."

Kagome gave her a small nervous chuckle before turning around and began to walk with the team. Hyuga looked around the campus: "This place is huge. You can really tell when a school is devoted to its athletics."

Kagome looked over to the tiger and blinked at noticing his red-shot eyes as she walked in between the two first years. "What the heck happened to you?" she questioned as she held the clipboard near her chest.

"Kagami-kun, the look in your eyes is worse than usual," commented Kuroko as he looked towards the red head.

"Uruse…," grunted Kagami, turning his head to the side. "I was a little too excited that I didn't sleep last night…"

Kagome's eyes drop to 'are-you-serious' stare as the phantom player blinked to reply: "What are you, a kid going on a field trip?"

"What did you say?!" glared the tiger. His eyes quickly widened upon feeling a pair of feminine hands landing on each side of his face and bringing him down to stare into a pair of cerulean orbs. A light tiny of pink dusted over Kagami's cheeks noticing the intent stare the miko gave back to him.

"W-What are you doing!?" he exclaimed as he tried to pull back.

"Hold still," she glared. "I am going to see what is wrong." She stared into his tired eyes: "Maybe some eye drops will help the irritation…"

Kuroko blinked, noticing the blush spreading onto the tiger's expression. "Stop blushing, Kagami-kun."

Kagami pulled away from the miko's hands and glared at the ghostly haired male. "Oi! I was not!"

"Hey, guys!"

All heads turned to see the familiar model running to them with what seemed an over excited smile. He stopped in front of them and smiled: "This place is big, so I thought I would come get you."

"Kise…oi!" Kagami walked forward to speak with the blonde only to be ignored as Kise walked towards the phantom player.

"Kurokocchi, ever since you turned down my invitation to join us, I've been crying into my pillow every night." Kise rubbed his eyes childishly.

"What is wrong with him?" blinked Hyuga, seeing the two males interact.

"Just show us the way," glared Kagami.

"Not even a girl has turned me down before," ignored Kise as he continued to speak with Kuroko.

"Are you ignoring me?" Kagami's tick twitched on his forehead.

"Well, there is a first for everything," Kagome looked down at the clipboard, not noticing as Kise's eyes glided over to stare at her.

"Oh? The kawaii manager came too? I'm glad! I actually wanted to show you my full skills on the court!" he smiled, watching as her eyebrow twitched.

"Uh…why?"

"Could you please stop being so sarcastic?" interrupted Kuroko.

Kise's eyes narrowed as he rested his hand on his hip. Taking a small glance towards the miko, he smirked. "Hm, I am getting even more interested in the people who are making Kurokocchi say things like this."

* * *

Upon entering the court, Seirin blinked at noticing a net dividing the court in half. The miko looked towards the practicing members. "Is the other half being use for practice?"

Kaijo's coach walked in front of them as he noticed the uniforms. He took his eyes away from the clipboard in front of them and blinked. "Oh, you're here. Welcome. I'm coach Takeuchi."

Both Kagome and Riko bow respectfully before is eyes roamed around the team. "Which one of you is the coach?"

"Ah, that's me," smiled Riko.

"Huh? You? You're not the manager?" he exclaimed, shocked at the info.

Riko shook her head: "Nope. Aida Riko and this is our manager – Higurashi Kagome."

"Ano…," Kagome grabbed the male coach's attention, "what is this?"

"Exactly what it looks like," he replied. "We only made simple arrangements for today's game."

"Arrangements?" repeated the miko.

"There won't be enough to learn from this game to make it worth watching for the guys sitting out."

Both Kagome and Riko feel their nerve appear on their forehead as the coach continued to speak.

"We are having the other players practice as usual so we don't waste time. Despite the arrangements, you'll be playing our regulars. I hope you won't let us triple your score."

Riko's fist tightened by her side as she watched Takeuchi walk away. Kagome crossed her arms: "The nerve of him…"

"They think we suck," glared Kagami. "They are treating this like a sideshow to their practice."

"Then show it isn't," Kagome whispered back, catching Kagami's and Kuroko's attention.

Their eyes travel towards the blonde, watching as he tucked in his jersey. "There we go," he smiled.

"Huh?" Kaijo's coach walked over to the model player. "Kise, why are you wearing your uniform? You're not playing."

"Eh?"

"I know we got star players from all the middle schools, but you are on a whole different level."

Kise's eyes widened: "D-Don't do that, coach! Seriously, stop saying that!"

"If I let you play, it won't even be a game anymore," the coach looked over to the Seirin team. He walked towards his bench as Kise was left staring at their opponents with the same glare in each face.

"Just listen to him," spoke Hyuga.

"I haven't been this pissed in a while," glared Shun.

Kise ran towards the team: "Sumimazen! Seriously, gomen! I'll be on the bench." He raised his hand next to his lips as he whispered to them. "If you give his guys a beating, I'm sure he will put me in. Besides…," he smirked, "if you can't force him to put me in, you shouldn't go around saying you'll be the Generation of Miracles."

"Oi, show the Seirin guys to the locker room," ordered the coach.

"Don't worry," spoke Kagome, watching as her team began to leave towards the lockers. "Your coach will have no choice but to bring you in." With a sweet smile, the miko followed behind the boys, leaving the blonde smirking.

' _Well what do you know…the girl sure has fire.'_

* * *

Riko slammed the door to the locker room as everyone had already changed. Riko's eyes fired in anger, remembering the insults over and over again from the male coach. "That coach-!" she growled.

Kagome walks around her and pats her shoulder: "Calm down, Riko-senpai."

"Ugh! I can't!" she pointed towards Shun and began to rant over how each player needs to show Kaijo just what exactly they are made of.

Walking over to Kuroko, Kagome sat next to him on the bench. "Kuroko-kun…"

"Hmm?"

"Does Kise-kun have a special talent to copy others? I noticed that his moves from yesterday were similar to those of Kagami-kun's."

The phantom player nodded, dropping his gaze downwards. "So you noticed."

Sighing, the miko shook her head: "I can't believe a grown man like their coach puts other people down. How about showing some maturity?"

Riko scoffed, overhearing her words. "Trust me…there will be many looking down on us."

Kagami walked in front of Kagome and smirked: "Just as you said…we will force them to the point where they will have to take us seriously."

A small smile appeared on her lips.

* * *

Sitting next to the female coach, Kagome watched as the two teams lined up before the referee to start the game.

"Let the practice game between Seirin High and Kaijo High begin!" he shouted as he held the ball. He blinked as his eyes landed on the Seirin's line of players. "Uh, we are about to get started, so Seirin, please have your five line up."

"Ano…there is five of us."

The referee and Kaijo team backed up as they noticed the ghostly haired player raise his hand slightly to catch their attention.

Kagome chuckled: "I don't think I will ever get tired of seeing other people's expressions once they noticed Kuroko-kun."

"Ouch…," whispered Riko, catching the miko's attention.

"What's wrong?" she questioned, noticing the intense concentration the coach had on the opposite team.

"This doesn't look good," she whispered in reply. "I can't see everything through their clothes, but their numbers are way higher than average. Our physical numbers are way behind. Honestly, it is not surprising for a nationally strong team. I mean, we do have Kuroko-kun and Kagami-kun…"

"But how far can they take us?" the miko whispered back. "All players have their limits."

The whistle soon blew, bringing the girls out of their talk and watched as Kaijo caught the ball first in the jump. Catching the ball into his hands, Kasamatsu ran forward to the hoop.

"Let's keep it up!" he shouted.

Kuroko quickly pushed the ball away from his bouncing rhythm, shocking the Kaijo team entirely.

"W-Where did he come from!?" exclaimed Kasamatsu.

Kuroko ran forward as he dribbled the ball and quickly passed the ball behind him only for the tiger to catch it and jump up onto the hoop and dunk it forcefully. Coming down from his score, Kagami raised his arms: "All right!"

The tiger quickly looked over to his hand seeing the hoop broken off from the backboard. Kaijo's team's eyes widened upon noticing the full strength the tiger demonstrated. Kagome buried her head into her palm, shaking her head. _'Seriously…?'_

Shun blinked as he looked at the backboard: "That thing is dangerous. One of the bolts is rusted."

"This thing is bigger than I thought," commented Kagami.

Riko quickly walked over to the over-angered coach and bowed down: "Gomenasai!"

Kuroko and Kagami were met with a light slap behind their heads, making them turn to see the miko crossing her arms. "Bakas! You can't be breaking other people's stuff!"

Kuroko blinked: "But I didn't…," he pointed towards the red head beside him, "he did."

"Oi! Don't be putting the blame on me!" he shouted back.

The miko patted their arms and smiled. "But that should be enough for them to see how serious we are," she whispered before turning her head over her shoulder to see the tick twitching on the coach's head. Walking over to the sitting coach, she bowed slightly: "We are deeply sorry, Coach Takeuchi."

Kuroko walked behind her, followed by Kagami. "We are sorry we broke your hoop." Standing straight from his bow, he continued to speak. "Since we can't play like this, could we use the full court?"

Kagami smirked as he placed the hoop over his shoulder, happy to see the smug of confidence wiped off the coach's face.

As the Kaijo's other players prepared the full court, Kagome watched awed by how fast things were getting done. They caught Kise's light chuckle behind them as they stood and turned to see a small smirk on his lips.

"Now that is what you call a beating," he spoke.

"Huh?" glared Kagami.

"I've never seen the coach like that before," he continued.

Kagami turned around to face the blonde. "You should tell him that is what he gets for underestimating us!"

Walking forward, Kuroko turned his attention elsewhere: "How much do you think a replacement hoop will cost?"

"Eh!? We…have to pay for that!?" exclaimed the red head.

"Of course we do, baka! Why do you think I hit you!?" Kagome shook her head, receiving a glare.

"Because you always do!"

Kagome shrugged as she ignored Kagami's rant of the replacement, leaving Kise staring at the two basketball players and female interacting. His eyes narrowed before turning around and taking a step into the court.

"Let the game resume!" called the referee.

Kise's eyes matched with his smirk: "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"You're finally in," smirked Kagami.

"You are way too intense for a model when you are on," commented Hyuga.

Kuroko turned to face the blonde: "He is not just putting on a show."

"Sugoi…," whispered Riko.

"Can you read his stats?" questioned Kagome as she placed her clipboard on her lap.

"Seeing him again, I can tell he really is a monster," she replied. The two girls quickly caught the noise of females squealing at the entrance of the gym. Turning their heads, they watched as a group of fan girls gathered around calling for Kise's attention.

Kagome's eyes dropped: _'R-Really…? Here too?'_

"Huh? What is all that!?" exclaimed Hyuga, surprised by the fan base.

"Oh, that?" asked Kasamatsu, placing his hands on his hips while watching his blonde teammate wave back to the girls. "This happens every time he plays and…," he ran towards the blonde and quickly kicked him off his balance, "quit waving to them! I'll hit you!"

The whistle soon blew once again, resuming the game. In a matter of seconds, Kasamatsu had passed the ball over to Kise only for him to jump and dunk the ball the same way the tiger had done. Jumping down onto his feet, his captain kicked him once again. "Baka! I told you to break it!"

"Sumimazen!"

Kagome's eyes blinked upon witnessing his power. _'He did it again…that was the same dunk that Kagami-kun performed, but if I am not mistaken…he doubled the power.'_

Kise chuckled under his breath as he stood in front of the tiger, catching his attention. "You know, I always have girls around me and admiring me, but it is quite a nice scene to see you and Kurokocchi having one who sees you more than just a 'model'." Kise's smirk widen as he looked away in thought. "You know…the coach was actually talking about getting and needing a manager."

Kagami's eyebrow twitched, seeing his meaning. "Teme…focus on basketball."

With one last chuckle, Kise walked past him and the game continued on in a fast pace. The miko was awed by the sudden change in pace. "W-What is going on?"

"I…don't know…," blinked Riko as she herself was surprised.

"What is up with this high-paced game?" Shinji spoke, watching as his teammates began to increase in speed and strength. "It's only been three minutes since they started."

"It's like they are playing without bothering to guard," Riko couldn't believe what she was seeing. "The defense is doing everything it can, but both teams' offenses are just too strong."

Kagome blinked, watching as the tiger's eyes began to cloud with anger as he noticed Kise's movements copying his own and if not…better. Turning her head to the side, she looked at the coach: "Riko-senpai…"

"Yeah…," she whispered back, narrowing down her eyes. "We need a time-out."

Riko stands from her bench and walked over to the score board to request the time out she needed. The miko turned her attention back to the court, observing Kuroko and his tired expression. She sighed while her shoulders slumped down: _'Bakas…'_

The whistle blew as the referee signaled the time-out. "Seirin, time out."

Kagome stood from her bench and gathered the water bottles and towels. Her eyes watched the team sitting on their seats, catching their breaths silently. As she handed a bottle and towel to each, she stopped in front of the red head and dropped the towel over his hung head. Looking up, Kagami noticed her handing him a water bottle.

"Calm down…," she whispered to him, watching as he took the bottle and towel to wipe off his sweat. The miko walked over to Riko, seeing her worried expression.

"They are way too tired for playing just five minutes…," she whispered to the miko.

"Well it isn't unreasonable," she whispered back. "You said so yourself. They have been switching back and forth from offense to defense."

"What the hell are you doing!?"

All eyes landed on the Kaijo's coach as he scolded his team. "How many points are you going to let them take!? Is the defense asleep? Huh!?"

Kagome blinked: "Hidoi…," her body jumped slightly as she caught Kise's gaze on her.

"I can't believe Kagami can't handle Kise," spoke Hyuga, catching the miko's attention down to Riko's drawn out plan. "Should we put another guy on him?"

"Hey, wait…please," Kagami whispered the last word.

"Please?" repeated Kagome, hearing the uncomfortableness he held in being polite.

"There is a way," spoke Kuroko, turning all heads to him. "They have a weakness."

"Weakness?" blinked Riko.

"What? You should have told us sooner," spoke Hyuga.

"No, to be honest, I'm not even sure you could call it a weakness," interrupted the phantom player. "Either way, sumimazen. There is another problem. Because of the unexpectedly high-paced play, my effectiveness is already wearing off."

"N-Nani!?" exclaimed Riko.

' _So that is why I saw him tired…,'_ Kagome was surprised herself that Kuroko had not mentioned anything.

"Why didn't you tell us something so important sooner!?" shouted Riko as she head-locked the phantom player into her arms.

"Sumimazen. You didn't ask," choked Kuroko as he tried to free himself.

"Do you not say anything unless you are asked!?"

The referee blew the whistle once again: "Your time out is over."

"Ah! All I got to do was hit Kuroko-kun!" exclaimed Riko.

Kagome sighed, watching as the teammates walked over to the court. Kagami stopped in front of them, surprising them both.

"Let me stay on him…please…"

Kagome crossed her arms: "Why are you acting so polite?" Kagome's eyes quickly widened as she looked back at Kuroko and to Kise. _'Wait…if Kise-kun is able to copy what he sees then he obviously can't copy what he can't…meaning-!'_ Kagome quickly pulled Kagami, making him blush.

"O-Oi! Kagome!"

She cupped her hands around his ear as she began to whisper something to him. Letting him go, Kagami was left blinking at her. "Baka…that is not going to work."

"Do it," she connected her eyes to his as he read the seriousness in them. "You won't know unless you try…"

Kagami's eyebrows furrowed before he ran towards the court.

"Hey! Wait!" shouted Riko. She looked over at the miko. "What did you tell him?"

"I…don't know…," she replied.

"Eh!?"

Kagome looked over her shoulder as she saw the phantom player tying his shoes. She walked over to stand in front of him: "Kuroko-kun…don't over work yourself."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," he replied as he passed by her.

Kagome watched as the game continued, dropping her eyebrow in worry. _'I wish there was a way I could help…'_ her eyes landed on the scoreboard as Kaijo made a three-pointer. She watched as Kagami tried passing the ball over to Kuroko only for it to be blocked. _'They are getting use to Kuroko-kun now…'_

The ball was blocked out of the court, making the referee make a call with his whistle. "Out of bounds. White ball."

Kagami's shoulder heaved up and down as he tried to regain some oxygen. His head turned over his shoulder, catching Kise's voice.

"Why don't you acknowledge it already? You are years away from challenging the Generation of Miracles."

"What did you say?"

"The gap between our scores might get bigger, but it certainly won't get any smaller. More than formations or strategies, basketball is about your build. It's a sport of size," Kise gave him a smirk. "The gap between your team and ours is simple too great. You were the only one who stood a chance against us, but I see now how good you are. I'll admit you have potential, but you are still far below me. No matter what you throw at me, with one look, I'll return it twice as good."

Kise chuckled, placing his hands on his hips: "You can struggle, but you will never beat me. The real world isn't that easy."

Kagami quickly caught everyone's attention as his laugh echoed throughout the court. "Sorry, sorry," he smirked. "I'm just so happy."

"Happy?"

"It's been a long time since anyone has said that to me," he replied. "I heard it all the time over there."

"Over there?"

"In America."

"Eh? You lived in America? Sugoi!"

"I thought I jumped the gun coming back here to play," Kagami's smirk widened. "Hearing you say that is encouraging, really. Life is all about challenges."

Kagome's eyes blinked as she heard his words, seeing the determination in his eyes.

"There is no point in living if there is no one strong to play," continued the red head. "It's better if I can't win. We are just getting started," Kagami walked past the blonde: "Don't you think it is a little soon to be saying you won?" He walked over towards the phantom player as his mind replayed back to the miko's words.

' _ **This might sound crazy, but I think Kise-kun's weakness could be Kuroko-kun.'**_

"Thanks to you, our manager was able to get a weakness out of you," smirked Kagami.

"Weakness?" repeated Kise as he looked over towards the miko. "What weakness?"

' _ **I want you to coordinate with Kuroko-kun. It might work…'**_

Kagami chuckled: "I'm sure it wasn't easy for you to say it yourself. With one look? What if you don't see it? Against a guy who is already invisible, it's impossible." He turned to face the blonde. "No matter how athletic you are, you'll never achieve an invisible basketball style." His hand landed on top of Kuroko's head. "In other words…this guy is your weakness."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments would be much appreciated! I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter!


	5. Last Second Faith

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seirin's match against Kaijou comes to an end, but Kise requests to have a chat with Kagome.

Kagami's eyebrows furrowed while his lips continued to hold his smirk. _'This better work, Kagome!'_

"K-Kagami is powerless against Kise," blinked Hyuga, watching as Kagami's grip remained over Kuroko's head, "but his weakness is…"

"Aside from passing, the weakest guy on the court is his weakness?" Riko whispered before looking over at the miko beside her. "What exactly did you tell Kagami-kun?"

Kagome sighed, watching as Kuroko's eyes slowly moved to the side to glare at Kagami's hold on his head. "I simply told him what I have been observing. I noticed Kise-kun only copying Kagami-kun's moves, but not once did he try in copying Kuroko-kun's. So…a thought occurred that maybe…just maybe he couldn't." The miko shrugged and chuckled nervously while turning her head to face the coach. "It was gamble I took though…"

Riko's eyebrow twitched before coming to hit Kagome lightly behind the head: "Kagome-chan! We can't be taking gambles!"

"Gomen!" she exclaimed back. "But I thought it was worth a shot!"

The coach sighed before turning her attention over to the court. _'But she is right…and her observation makes sense.'_

"So?" spoke Kise, smirking at the nonsense Kagami was spouting. "It's true Kurokocchi's style is the only one I can't imitate. But what does that change?"

The referee soon blew the whistle: "End of the first quarter! Take a two minute break!"

"It changes everything," smirked Kagami. "We will bring you to tears in the second quarter." The tiger released Kuroko and turned around to follow his team to the bench.

The blonde basketball player changed is view, watching as Kagome handed Kuroko his water bottle with a smile. Narrowing his eyes down, he slowly made his way to his own bench. _'Higurashi Kagome…'_

* * *

Kagome sighed, not liking the feeling of having the whole Seirin team looking at her as she sat on the bench. Even Riko was staring at her. Riko nodded upon hearing the small plan the miko had for the next quarter and she had to admit that it was not a bad one.

"It could work," spoke Hyuga, catching the miko's attention.

"Having Kagami-kun and Kuroko-kun coordinate in the court hasn't been practiced though…," she replied. "I mean, it was just a thought…"

Riko sighed: "But not a bad one. Just like you said…we may need to gamble on this one."

"But you said we don't gamble on games," blinked Kagome.

"Forget what I said!" she huffed, crossing her arms. She watched as Kagome handed Kagami another clean towel, making her smirk. "Also, Kagome-chan, good job on making Kagami-kun cool down before he returned on the court."

"Huh?" both blinked over to the coach's direction.

Kagami took a step forward: "Wait…no, I was always-"

"You were really pissed!" exclaimed both Hyuga and Shin, watching as he jumped from the sudden yell.

"But, both of your coordination will be key in this game," Riko placed her hands on her hips.

Kagome looked between the two boys and blinked: _'Why do I feel so uneasy about this though? Everything should be okay, right?'_ She stood from her spot and caught their attention. "Can…you both do it?"

Kagami looked away from her gaze and shrugged: "Yeah…probably. I mean, we will try-" he was quickly jabbed by Kuroko's hand on his side, making him crouch down from the pain. The miko blinked, surprised from the bold move. Kagami sent the boy a glare while covering his jabbed area: "T-Teme…where did that come from?"

"K-Kuroko-kun…you didn't have to do that…," she whispered to him, watching as his gaze turned to the tiger.

"You want to beat Kise-kun, right?" he questioned.

Straightening back, Kagami looked ahead: "Of course I do!" his own hand jabbed the phantom player back onto his side, making him crouch from the same impact.

"Stop it," Kagome jabbed both her hands on Kagami's and Kuroko's side, watching as they clutched their pain. "I told you to stop the violence! Stop acting like kids and start working together!"

"O-Oi…," glared Kagami.

"Kagome-chan…that really hurt…," whispered Kuroko.

The miko sighed before turning her head over to see the Kaijo team beginning to stand on their feet. "All of you need to work together. We need to take those over confident smirks away, remember?"

Hyuga stood from his bench and nodded: "Kagome-chan is right. We need to show them to not underestimate us."

With a smirk of her own, Riko crossed her arms and watched as her team walked over to the court: "Well, then, let us see how well your plan works, Kagome-chan."

Kagome looked ahead: _'…I hope this works.'_

"Let the second quarter begin!" shouted the referee.

The whistle caught the attention of everyone around, quickly resuming the game. Seconds and minutes quickly passed by as the score continued to go back and forth. One score to each team as they gained the ball with every bit of strength they had inside.

Kagome's eyes looked over to the scoreboard: "Ten point difference now…," her attention returned back to the game, quickly seeing as Kagami caught the passed ball and ran towards the hoop. Kise trailed beside, ready to block his score.

The miko's eyes widened, noticing Kagami's eyes gliding to corner as he passed the ball behind him, surprising not only Kise, but herself the moment Kuroko passed the ball around the blonde and back to the tiger's grip.

"I-It worked…," whispered the miko, wide eyed as Kagami quickly made the basket.

"Yes!" exclaimed Riko, grinning as the ten point difference quickly decreased to five in less than two minutes as the scores increased on their side with each basket.

The coordination continued, making Kagome smile at the display of team work not only that Kagami and Kuroko were displaying, but team as a whole. _'This really might work-'_

Both females watched as Kagami passed the ball to the phantom player behind him, only to have not read his intention and let the ball roll away. Kuroko looked at Kagami's sweat drop, seeing that their team work still need a little bit more polishing.

Riko's eyebrow twitched: "Bakas!"

Kagome sighed, smiling: _'…well, we are going to need to practice their coordination a lot more.'_ Shaking her head, she cupped her hands on each side of her lips: "Come on, Seirin!"

Kise tried regaining his breath while tightening his glare on the wooden court. His ears quickly caught the voice of the manager and looked over to see the girl cheering for her team. _'How on earth…what did she tell them during the break? She was the one that told them my apparent 'weakness'…'_

The phantom player turned his head, noticing the glare sent glare Kise gave towards the miko. "Kise-kun, you're strong. I'm powerless and Kagami-kun can't stand against you, but when Kagome-chan pointed out that we should work together, we all saw a fighting chance."

Kise's eyes narrowed down: "You really have changed, Kurokocchi. We never played basketball like this at Teiko, but you still can't stop me. I will be the winner!" He turned to face his opponents, smirking at their glaring looks: "It's true I can't copy your coordination, but since you will lose your effectiveness after forty minutes, you will lose this game in the second half!"

Kagome blinked watching as the blonde player caught the ball in his hand and began to dribble it over to the hoop. She smiled the moment Kuroko stepped in front of him, making him freeze in his steps.

"K-Kuroko's on Kise?" whispered Kasamatsu, watching the serious look on the phantom player's expression.

Kise's eyes widened, never dreaming of the guy coming head to head against him on the basketball court. A smirk crept on Kise's lips: "I never dreamed we would play together like this, Kurokocchi."

"Neither did I."

"I don't know what that manager of yours told you, but her plan won't stop me, Kurokocchi!" he glared before making it around Kuroko and dribbled ahead. His eyes scrunched as Kagami appeared in front of him, blocking his way.

"Wrong," smirked Kagami. "We aren't trying to stop you."

The miko quickly took notice of Kise's guard dropping, making her cup her hands around her lips once again: "Take the ball, Kuroko-kun!" Her eyes watched as Kuroko quickly bumped the ball out of Kise's grasp, surprising him from the sudden action.

Kise looked over his shoulder: _'Nani?! A back tip!? They took advantage of the second I hesitated!'_

"It doesn't matter how amazingly you play against us," spoke Kagami. "We are trying to let you through!"

The ball was quickly passed to Shun, rushing his way towards the hoop and making it in effortlessly.

Kasamatsu's eyes tightened: "Damn it! A simple double team would have been better!"

Riko looked at the miko beside her: "You caught that his defense was down, huh?"

"Well, no one should get cocky. Letting your guard down can easily affect not only yourself but the team. Kuroko's ability can really be used to our advantage if we just know how…," Kagome's lips curved to a small smile. "Kise-kun couldn't even react in time to an invisible guy coming up behind him."

Riko smirked: "You are really getting the hang of this, Kagome-chan."

The miko chuckled lowly: "Well…I am a quick learner I guess…"

Kise quickly caught the passed ball and dribbled it in his spot. "Fine. I just won't run by you then," he glared. "No one said I couldn't shoot a three pointer!" Placing his hands on the ball, he jumped up to free the ball into the hoop.

Kagami placed his hand over Kuroko's head, using it as a supporter to jump higher and knock the ball off Kise's hands. All eyes widened at the sudden move, making the miko's eyebrow twitch: "Okay…I didn't mean use him as a leverage!" Shaking her thoughts away, she watched the ball bounce off: "Kagami-kun! Get the ball!"

Getting back on his feet, the tiger rushed forward: "Fast break!"

Kise followed suit, anger already beginning to smoke out. The blonde quickly turned around only for his hand to hit Kuroko's side of the head. The phantom player dropped to the floor, shocking everyone around in a frozen state.

The miko stood from her spot: "Kuroko-kun!" she called out, watching his body lay on the wooden floor.

Riko came up: "Kagami-kun! Get Kuroko-kun here!"

The referee quickly blew on his whistle: "Referee time out!"

Kuroko slowly sat up, raising his head to reveal the blood trickling from his forehead. Gasping, the miko shook her head and took a small step forward: _'no…it's my fault…'_

The phantom player stood on his own, wobbling from his stand. Hyuga quickly ran to his side: "Are you okay, Kuroko?"

"I feel lightheaded…," he whispered.

Kagome ran to the boy's side and placed her hands on each side of Kuroko's face, bringing it down gently to inspect the wound. Her eyes shook with worry as her fingers gently brushed away a few of his bangs, making him wince lightly.

"Gomen…," she whispered, seeing the blood slowly come down lower to his eye. "Look at you…"

"Are you okay!?" exclaimed Kagami, running to them and seeing the miko inspect the blood.

"I'm fine," Kuroko sent the miko a smile before trying to pull away from her hands. "The game is just getting started."

"You are not fine!" she exclaimed.

"Don't worry, Kagome-chan," he continued to smile. "We still need to finish this game-" his body slowly dropped down to the ground only for the miko to catch him into her arms and drop to her knees.

"Kuroko!" Hyuga watched as their first year had lost conscious.

Kagome looked over to the tiger: "Kagami-kun, could you please carry him over to the bench?"

"Uh…hai…," he bent down and picked up the male and hurried his way over to their seats along with the captain following behind.

The miko stood from her spot and connected her eyes with Kise's. Her eyebrows dropped in worry, seeing his own regretful expression. Kagome looked down to the ground: "Don't worry…he won't hold it against you…"

Kise's eyes widen a bit upon hearing her whispered words. His sight trailed her as she ran over to Kuroko after he had been laid on the bench.

"Kurokocchi…"

* * *

Kagome opened the first aid kit, kneeling down on the ground as the team crowded around to see how she would help. None of them were confident in helping and with seeing blood…they only freaked out even more.

"Kagome-chan…do you know what you are doing?" blinked Hyuga, quite interested the moment Kagome grabbed the supplies she needed.

The miko began to clean the blood off Kuroko's wound, making Shinji gasp: "Y-You aren't scared by the blood!?"

"I have dealt with blood before…," she whispered, knowing that the Seirin team heard her.

"Y-You have!?" they exclaimed.

"Uh…yeah," she replied, grabbing a bandage. "I have healed injuries before and most of them were open cuts."

"Huh…well that surely is new…," muttered Riko. "I didn't think you were good in healing."

Kagome grabbed the white bandages and gently began to wrap them around Kuroko's head. "Well, it isn't something I tell everybody…," Kagome sighed, her hands backing away from the unconscious player. "Well…I have done what I could. That should stop his bleeding."

"What are we going to do then?" questioned Hyuga, turning to the coach.

Riko sighed, crossing her arms: "How is he, Kagome-chan?"

Standing from her position, she looked over to the team. "Kuroko-kun can't play anymore. He will need to stay out of this game."

Nodding, Riko turned her attention back to her players: "We will have to make do with the members we have left." She looked over towards Hyuga. "The second years will be our offensive core. It's only the second quarter, but we can't let them get too far ahead of us. I know it's early, but it's game time, Hyuga-kun." She turned to face the red head. "Kise-kun will only continue to copy you so don't play offense, Kagami-kun. Focus on defending."

"Are you sure that will work!?" he exclaimed.

Hyuga's eyes dropped blankly: "It'll be fine. Have some faith."

"But-!"

"I said it will be fine, dumbass," Hyuga sent him a forced smile. "Listen to your seniors once in a while or I'll kill you." Hyuga took a glance over to the miko, watching as her eyes continued to glue onto the unconscious player. "Besides, go comfort someone," he whispered to the tiger before turning towards the court as the whistle was blown once again.

Kagami turned his head to the side watching Kagome's head hung low in regret.

Hyuga huffed: "Seriously, first years should show more respect for their seniors! Get on your knees!"

"You're showing your true colors, captain!" spoke Shun. "Don't worry about him. He is always like that during clutch time. Leave the offense to him. You just defend like your life depends on it." He followed the captain behind, leaving the tiger to return his gaze back onto the miko.

Scratching the back of his head, he placed his hand on top of Kagome's head, making her jolt slightly from the sudden weight. Looking up, she noticed Kagami's eyes to the side. "K-Kagami-kun…?" she whispered.

"Stop sulking," he whispered to her. "Your plan worked and Kuroko…was happy that you contributed and helped the team catch up. You did well…it isn't your fault." Removing his hand away from her head, he turned back around towards the court. "Now it is our turn to work as a team like you said. Just watch us become stronger for Kuroko's and your sake."

Kagome was left in blinks before returning her attention to Kuroko's body. _'I could heal him…but I can't make it seem so obvious that he healed with a miracle.'_ Kagome's eyes dropped down to her hand. _'It has been a long time since I used my…powers. Maybe…I could give him a bit of my energy and transfer it…at least for him to become conscious again…'_

Kagome's attention was brought back as the sound of the ball began to dribble. She watched as the second years began to score one after another with ease, surprising her with their skills. Gripping into her fist, Kagome quietly knelt down onto the floor beside Kuroko, making sure Riko and the rest of the team were not aware of her actions.

Looking around, she saw the area clear before bringing her hand over Kuroko's bandage and made a faint pink glow under her limb. _'Please work…I can't heal him all the way...'_

"Coach," called out Koichi, "isn't there anything we can do?"

"They don't have any energy left for plays after the first half's pace," she sighed. "If only we had Kuroko-kun…"

Kagome could not help but feel at fault over Kuroko's condition and the team's worry. She was the one who had placed Kagami and Kuroko up on front against Kise and now here he was unconscious. Removing the glow from under her hand, Kagome looked over to Kuroko's unconscious state and sighed: _'Please wake up…,'_ she gently placed her hand over his, closing her eyes in pray.

"Very well…"

Kagome's eyes snapped open as she felt Kuroko's other free hand lay on top of hers. Her attention flew over to see the phantom player slowly sitting up from his spot. "K-Kuroko-kun…?!"

Riko jumped from the name and looked over her shoulder, watching as the ghostly haired male's eyes had opened. The miko followed him as he stood on his feet: _'The healing…worked…?'_

"Ohayo gozaimasu…," spoke Kuroko. He stepped forward: "I'll be going then."

"Chotto matte!" Kagome grabbed his wrist, catching his attention. "You are not going out there!"

"But…coach just said I needed to go…"

"I didn't tell you to do that!" she exclaimed, coming to stand in front of him. "Now, Kagome-chan is right! You can't go back in there in your current state!"

"Then I am going out," he replied back.

"O-Oi!" Kagome walked around to stand in front of the coach and glared at the boy. "You just got hit and regained consciousness…you can't go out there!"

Kuroko's eyes dropped upon seeing the worry in Kagome's eyes along with a mix of guilt. "If I can change anything by going out there, please. Besides…," his eyes landed on the miko's, "I can't let you feel guilty over this. I made you and Kagami-kun a promise in which I would become your guys' shadow."

Kagome was left speechless. She didn't want to let him go back into the court, afraid that he might injure himself again and make it worse. Kagome felt his hand on her hers, grabbing it to his eyes. "You did nothing wrong. This is what basketball is about and…your hands were able to bring me out of my weak state if it weren't for your bandaging. You have supported all of us throughout the whole game."

Kagome blushed slightly from his words before he let go her hand and walked past her and towards Riko.

The coach sighed: "Fine, but if I or Kagome-chan think you are in trouble, I'm switching you out immediately."

Shinji walked over the moment the referee blew his whistle of a member change. Shinji gave the phantom player a high five before he walked over to the bench. Kagome took a step to stand beside the coach, watching as Kuroko made his way towards the tiger in waiting. Kagami's eyes took a small glance over to the manager before setting his attention back to his partner.

"Oi."

"Domo."

"Are you alright?" he questioned.

He received a nod.

"And her?" Kagami's head nudged over to the standing miko.

Kuroko looked over his shoulder: "She feels guilty."

Nodding to his response, Kagami looked ahead to the court: "Well, let's show her it isn't her fault and beat these guys. Let's go!"

"Hai."

The game resumed onto the fourth quarter, all eyes watching as Seirin continued to make score after score with the help of Kuroko's passes. Kasamatsu cursed under his breath: "We were just getting used to him, but now he is back at full power! It must be because he stayed out the last two quarters!"

Riko blinked, noticing Kuroko's passing back to normal. "That's weird…Kuroko's passes are back to when we started…"

Kagome dropped her head down to her hand: _'Did…I recover his stamina?'_ Curling her fingers in, she turned her attention to the score board. "Eighty to eighty-two…and with five minutes left." Her eyes caught the determination inside the team's eyes, making her tighten her fist beside her. _'This is basketball to them…it is their life. If I can't coach or play…the least I can do is give them some of my energy for their stamina.'_

Hyuga quickly made a shot, making everyone wide eyed at the tie score on the board. Hyuga smirked, watching as everyone only stood in shock from their sudden catch up. Kagome's lips curved into a smile before calling out their name in a cheer along with the rest of the team on the bench.

Kise's fist clenched beside him: _'We're…tied?'_ His immediately glided over to the miko, watching as the same smile appeared on her lips. _'She brought Kuroko-kun back into the court…I won't let them win!'_ He quickly ran past Kuroko as Kasamatsu passed him the ball.

"Kise!" he shouted.

"Kuroko!" Kagami signaled Kuroko to steal the ball from Kise's grasp only to miss as Kise switched the ball to his other hand.

Riko's and Kagome's eyes widened the moment Kise made the dunk and landed his feet. "H-How..?" whispered Riko.

"He…got even stronger…," Kagome quickly caught the seriousness in Kise's eyes.

"I won't lose," glared Kise. "Not to anyone! Not even to Kurokocchi and that manager of yours!"

"This isn't good," Hyuga wiped the sweat of his nose with his jersey. "Give it your all, everyone! This will be just like the first quarter from here on out. A back and forth run and gun game!"

The team quickly ran over to the other side of the court, defending their area. Riko cupped her hands beside her lips: "Mitobe-kun, post up! Hyuga-kun! Shun-kun, hurry!"

"Kagami-kun! Kuroko-kun!" shouted Kagome, seeing that a plan would be no good and it was left to the players' will of continuing and winning.

The game continued on a fast pace as time continued to tick away. Two minutes were left into the game and each team scored one after another. Kuroko made another pass onto Kagami, helping him into dunk the ball. The board was lead to a tie once again with less than thirty seconds left.

"These resilient bastards!" grunted Kasamatsu as he held the ball in his hands. "Finish them!"

"There is no time left! Get them!" shouted Hyuga. "If we don't take the ball here, it's over!"

Kagami cursed under his breath, taking a step forward before Kuroko's voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Kagami-kun," Kuroko walked past the tiger, watching as the Kaijo team dribbled the ball over. "If we can get the ball, there's one more thing we can do Kise-kun can't copy. It's a simple strategy that will only work once, thought."

Riko uncrossed her arms, her eyes tightening in worry: "There is less than ten seconds left. We don't have the strength to play in overtime."

Kagome placed her hand on Riko's shoulder, catching her attention. Kagome's eyes rested on the first year duo: "I think those two…have a plan. All we can do is have faith in them and the whole team."

"Kagome-chan…"

Kasamatsu jumped up, aiming for the hoop only for Kagami to come to the side and push the ball away from his hands. The ball landed on Hyuga's hand gripping it tightly before throwing it over to the already running tiger alongside Kuroko.

"Don't let them through!" shouted Kasamatsu.

Kise quickly appeared in front of the duo as Kagami dribbled the ball. "Kuroko!" Kagami quickly passed the ball over to the phantom player as they went around the blonde.

Kise's eyes widened while turning his attention over his shoulder: "Kurokocchi can't shoot! With only two of them, he will have to pass it back to Kagami!"

Kuroko passed the ball over to the hoop, catching the blonde by surprise. "H-He shot the ball!?"

Kagome smirked, watching as Kagami quickly jumped up and caught the ball in the air. Kasamatsu's eyes narrowed: "No! He is aiming for an alley oop!"

"I won't let you do that!" shouted Kise. He jumped behind the red head only to see him jumping higher. _'He's still climbing?! How far will he go!? We jumped at the same time, but I'm falling first! How can you stay in the air so long!?'_

Kagome gasped: "He is going for a buzzer better!"

"This ends now!" shouted Kagami as he dunked the ball in the moment the whistle was blown. All eyes landed on the score board as the silence grew.

Kagome blinked: "One hundred to…ninety-eight…w-we..won," she looked over to the first year duo and smile. "We won."

"All right!" exclaimed Kagami, breaking the silence.

Riko nodded, extending her arm out in a thumbs up. A chuckle escaped from Hyuga's lips: "I can't believe we won."

Kuroko rested his hands on his knees, a small smile curving his lips as he looked over to the miko. _'Arigatou…Kagome-chan.'_

The blonde was left in a blank stare, his eyes fixed on the scoreboard. _'I lost? For the first time in my life, I…,'_ he felt tears slowly stream down his cheeks. "Huh?" wiping them away, he hid his face into his palm.

"You idiot!" Kasamatsu kicked Kise on his back. "Stop crying and you have to have some balls to say you haven never lost before. I'll hit you for that! You better add 'revenge' to that empty dictionary of yours!"

"Line up!" the referee called out with his whistle. Both teams lined up face to face as the referee spoke: "with a score of one hundred to ninety-eight, Seirin High wins."

Kagome released a breath of worry, watching as both teams headed out to the front of the gym. The miko quickly felt a pair of hands lifting her up in the air. A tint of pink spread across her cheeks watching as Kagami cheered.

"K-Kagami-kun!" she exclaimed, embarrassed at the sudden action.

"We won!" he shouted.

Riko chuckled: "Well, that is a rare sight to see him so happy."

"Kagome-chan did put a lot into the game," spoke Hyuga, grabbing his bag. "She may not think she did, but if it wasn't for her, Kuroko and Kagami wouldn't have put their skills to good use."

The coach nodded: "You're right, but…," she smirked, "seeing him like this really is something I want to see often."

"Kagami-kun. Everyone is watching," commented Kuroko.

Kagami's eyes shot wide, realizing what he was doing.

"Put me down!" exclaimed Kagome.

"G-Gomen…," Kagami set her down before looking over to his grinning teammates. "O-Oi! It isn't what you think!"

"Hai, hai," Riko waved him off before the whole team walked out the doors.

"Oi!" Kagami chased after them after grabbing his own bag and jacket. Kagome sighed, straightening her clothing and grabbed the first-aid kit.

"Kagome-chan."

"Hm?" Kagome looked over to the phantom player. "What is it, Kuroko-kun?"

"Arigatou…," he replied.

Kagome blinked: "Huh? For…what?"

"For becoming the light in supporting and helping us," he continued. "If it wasn't for you, we probably would have given up half way through the game."

"I…I didn't do anything, Kuroko-kun," she smiled. "It was all of you who put the work."

"We don't see it that way," Kuroko walked past the miko. "Your words are enough to encourage to move forward." The phantom player exited the gym, leaving her alone by the bench as the other Kaijo benched members began to clean the court.

Kagome looked at the court ahead: _'…so this is the beginning of a new life.'_ A small smile appeared on her lips before she grabbed her clipboard and walked over to the doors.

* * *

Kasamatsu's hand grasped Hyuga's as they met for a handshake outside the gym. With a smile, Kasamatsu ignored the angry air his coach behind him began to send off.

"Because we are in different districts, it we play again, it will be at Inter-High," he spoke.

"We'll be there," smiled Hyuga, feeling the bright shine from his own coach behind him. He turned to his teammates: "Let's go then!"

The team moved forward, only for Kuroko to look over his shoulder to see the miko looking around. "Kagome-chan?"

"Ah, gomen…," she whispered. "I was just wondering where…Kise-kun was."

Kuroko blinked, realizing that the blonde had not come out.

* * *

Letting the water run down his head, Kise raised his hand to turn off the knob as he lifted his head up from the outside sink.

"Gemini's horoscope predicted terrible luck for you today, but I didn't think you would actually lose."

Kise's attention turned to his left as he blinked at the green haired person ahead of him. His eyebrows furrowed: "You came to watch, Midorimacchi?"

"Either way, it was an unfortunate game," the green haired male continued. "Even a monkey could have managed those dunks. It's no wonder fate didn't choose your side."

Kise pouted: "I haven't seen you since middle school. It's good to see you again." Smirking, Kise leaned against the concrete sink: "I see you haven't stopped taping your fingers. Anyway, who cares if I dunk as long as it goes in?"

"That is why you're no good," replied Midorima. "Getting the ball in from up close is easy. Getting it in from far away has true value. Optimal effort makes you worthy of fate's grace. I always do my best and I always keep the Oha-Asa horoscope's lucky item on me. By the way, today's item is a toy frog. That is why my shots never miss."

' _I've never understood that last part, but…,'_ Kise's eyes rose back up to Midorima's green orbs, _'this is the Generation of Miracles' number one shooter.'_ Kise sighed, resting his hand on his hip: "Shouldn't you be talking to Kurokocchi instead of me?"

"There is no need," he replied. "B-blood types like myself and A-blood types like him never get along. I not only acknowledge his style, but respect it, but I cannot accept his decision to attend an obscure school like Seirin. I simply came because we will be going against them in the division preliminaries."

Kise sighed: "Well, it seems Kurokocchi met some interesting people in Seirin," a small chuckle escaped his lips as an image of Kagome went through his mind. "To think that a girl who is their manager was able to figure out a way to defeat us."

"Huh?" Midorima's eyebrow rose. "Girl?"

"Seirin's manager," he replied. "Seems like Kurokocchi became very fond of her and I finally noticed why." His eyes quickly caught the view of the Seirin team walking ahead with Kuroko talking to the miko. "There she is now."

Midorima looked over his shoulder, watching as the miko checked Kuroko's bandage. "She is the manager?"

"She doesn't look like much. I thought she was just another kawaii girl, but she is very observant and quickly helped Kuroko with his wound," Kise sighed. "Kurokocchi can be only lucky guy. Makes me want a manager like her for our team…," Kise placed his fist on top of his other palm: "Got it! I can just convince her to change to this school!"

Midorima scoffed: "Don't be stupid." His eyes glided back over to see the miko walking ahead, telling the team they need to visit a hospital to check if Kuroko was okay. "Her name."

"Huh?" blinked Kise.

"What is her name?"

"Higurashi Kagome," he replied. "Why?"

Adjusting his glasses in, he narrowed down his eyes on the girl: "Higurashi Kagome."

* * *

The Seirin team waited outside the hospital, watching as Riko and Kagome came out with Kuroko after having met the doctor to make sure Kuroko was truly okay with his head injury. Riko gave them a thumbs up: "Everything is okay!"

A sigh of relief escaped everyone's lungs.

"That's great," sighed Hyuga.

"Sorry for making you worry," Kuroko gave them a slight bow.

"I didn't know what would happen when you fell over," spoke Shun. "But we are glad you're all right."

Riko slapped Kagome's back, surprising her: "If it wasn't for Kagome-chan's quick hands on dealing with the injury, Kuroko would have been unconscious the whole time." She gave the miko a laugh. "Even the doctor said that the bandaging was done correctly and she was able to stop Kuroko from having lost a lot of blood."

"Sugoi," smiled Hyuga.

Kagome scratched the back of her head: "Uh well…I had to do what had to be done…"

Shinji raised his hands up in the air: "And thanks to everyone's hard work…we won!"

Everyone cheered in victory as they walked down the side walk. Kagome blinked, looking to her left as Kagami walked beside her. "Kagami-kun? Are you alright?"

Kagami looked down at her and blushed at her blink: "Uh…yeah…," he looked ahead. "You…did great during the game."

The miko chuckled, seeing that politeness really was not the tiger's forte.

"You are bad at giving compliments, Kagami-kun," spoke Kuroko from beside the miko.

Kagami's tick twitched on his forehead: "Oi! Where did you come from!?"

"I was here the whole time," he blinked innocently.

Both males quickly blinked at feeling Kagome's arms linking under theirs. A blush appeared on both males, a darker one on the tiger's. "Both of you did great. I want to thank you two for believing in my plan although it was something that was just thought of last minute…but I want to thank you for having done your ultimate best in winning for all of us."

The miko set the arms free before walking ahead to the coach. Kagami blinked as she began to talk with Riko. "She…really surprised me to be honest. With her plan and all."

Kuroko nodded: "People can be full of surprises, but I can tell Kagome-chan is a special person who has already been through a lot."

"Hm?" Kagami's eyebrow rose.

Before the tiger could ask what he meant, Shun's words broke out to catch all their attention. "Let's get something to eat on the way home."

"What do you want?" asked Hyuga.

"Something cheap," cut in Shinji. "I'm broke."

"Me too," added the tiger as they all walked by shops and restaurants.

"So am I," whispered Kuroko.

"Hold on," spoke Riko, stopping everyone in their tracks. "How much does everyone have after transportation costs?" Riko gathered their change and showed them only the three-hundred yen (approx. three dollars).

The captain sighed: "Let's go home."

Kagome blinked as she noticed a sign on the restaurant beside them. Walking over to the poster, Kagome read the contents. "Ano…would anyone like steak?"

"Huh?" all eyes landed on the miko.

Making her way beside the female, Riko read the poster before her eyes shined. Her smirk was sent to the boys: "yeah, who wants steak?"

* * *

The miko blinked over and over again, watching as each boy was served with a huge four kilogram (eight pounds) sizzling hot steak on their plate. Kagome's lip twitched as she smiled: _'I know the sign said they have to eat it in thirty minutes or less and it is free…but what if they can't?! They have to pay ten-thousand yen if they don't finish it!'_

Riko smiled brightly: "What's wrong? Don't hold back, right Kagome-chan? They did say they were hungry."

Hyuga sighed as he grabbed his fork and knife: "What are we going to do if we can't eat all of this?"

"What?" blinked Riko. "Why do you think I make you run every day?"

Kagome was left awed as the boys began to eat. Her eyes went over to the phantom player as he sat in front of her, slowly eating from his food. She looked over to the other members, slowly yet hurriedly eating the steak.

Shun stabbed a piece into his fork: "This steak is steakalicious."

Shinji coughed on his food before turning his head over to the pun user: "Gomen, but that shit is really annoying right now."

Kagome chuckled nervously, seeing the male had a sense of humor with his puns.

"Excuse me."

Kagome blinked over to see Kuroko wiping his mouth with the napkin. "Are you okay?"

Hyuga looked to his side: "Do you need some water?"

"I give up."

Everyone's eyebrow twitched: "Kuroko!"

Kagome sighed, watching as everyone began to get full. Looking over to her left, she watched as Kagami wasn't bothered by the size and portion of the food and continued to eat. Looking back at the players in front of her, she grabbed Kuroko's plate: "Then why don't we just give it to him."

"Huh?" all eyes went over to the miko as she placed Kuroko's steak on Kagami's plate after he finished his last piece.

"This is delicious!" he exclaimed soon watching as the miko placed Kuroko's portion onto his empty plate. "Oh, arigatou, Kagome!" He began to stuff his face once again, catching everyone by surprise on how much the male could eat.

Kagome chuckled, grabbing Hyuga's plate next: "You have to admit, he looks like a squirrel stuffing his cheeks."

Kagami sent the miko a glare: "Oi!"

"A cute one though!" she defended laughing as she brought Hyuga's steak over to his plate: "Look! More!"

The team blinked, watching as Kagome served a steak one after another and mentally thanked the girl.

' _Arigatou…Kagome-chan! Kagami!'_

* * *

Kagome came out of the restaurant, chuckling lightly as she was overwhelmed with the amount of plates that were beginning to pile as Kagami continued to eat. She had told Riko she needed some air for a while before she would come back to see Kagami's new record of plates.

Opening the door, Kagome stepped out: "Geez…just how much can that tiger eat?" Her eyes looked ahead, blinking as they landed on a familiar blonde. "Kise…kun?"

Kise smiled at the miko: "Do you have a minute to talk?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments would be much appreciated! I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter!


	6. Fair Kidnapping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From battling demons to watching demons on a basketball court is something the miko never dared to dream. These males were nothing but normal in this competitive sport, but who knew males were more competitive when it came to wanting something more than just the title of a winner. Kagome was stuck in the world of a basketball war.

"Ugh…I think I ate too much…." The team walked out of the restaurant, watching as Kagami held his increased sized stomach.

"You really are a monster." Hyuga shook his head, coming from behind after closing the door. "But you did save us from that dilemma."

The phantom player looked around, already feeling the empty presence of a female. He blinked away while turning his head to the other side, seeing the person was not there. Blinking, his ears caught the voice of his coach.

"All right! Is everyone here? Let us head home!" She smiled, placing her hands on her hips.

Kuroko resumed his search with his head turning: "Where is Kagome-chan?"

The team jumped as Kagami and Hyuga looked behind them and seeing the innocent eyes on the phantom player. They had thought he was at the front! Kagami quickly composed himself: "The girl is probably behind you. She is petite."

The team looked behind and noticed the empty presence. Hyuga scratched the back of his head: "Huh? Where on earth did she go?"

Riko sighed, "Maa…she is learning Kuroko-kun tricks!"

Kagami shared a glance with the ghostly haired male beside him: "Do you know where she could have gone?"

"She said she needed some fresh air," he replied.

The tiger nodded and looked over to the team, "we will go search for her! It shouldn't take too long!"

The first year duo quickly walked off, leaving the Seirin team in confusion. Shinji blinked, "hm, they really are starting to warm up to her, huh?"

"Seems like it," grinned Riko. "Our new manager might make basketball even more interesting this year."

* * *

 

The miko blinked silently as she walked beside the blonde. She wasn't sure what led her to follow the stranger. Yes, he was a stranger to her, but she didn't sense anything bad from him and if Kuroko trusted him as a friend…then she would trust Kuroko on his thoughts. But the moment she had laid eyes on the blonde standing outside the restaurant, was one she had never dreamed of.

Had he followed them there? From the corner of her eyes, she took in his features. He literally was the meaning of perfection in a guy…at least in looks from what she could see. Personality was something she was far from knowing.

What really caught her off guard was his question in having a talk. Not with Kuroko. Not even with Kagami…but her. She was curious though and she blamed her curiosity into agreeing for his little talk. What she didn't expect was for him to include her in a walk and talk session down the street not too far from the restaurant.

 _'The team will probably be wondering where I am now…ugh…,'_ the miko sighed silently under her breath. _'How do I explain I met with one of the Generation of Miracles…? They will flip!'_

"You really look kawaii when you are in deep thought."

Blinking out of her talking mind, the miko's eyes rose to see Kise's own golden orbs on her person. A slight blush tinted over her cheeks as his smile appeared on his lips.

"What are you thinking about?" He questioned, lifting an eyebrow.

"N-Nothing…". She looked away, not wanting to admit she was both worried and curious around his presence.

"Hm, worried that your team will chew your head off finding you with me?" He chuckled. "Ah! Gomen!" He stopped in front of her, surprising her in the process. "I guess I never really introduced myself formally to you. How about we start over? Kise Ryouta!" His smile stretched, making the miko wonder how easily his personality and gaze could change from outside and inside the court.

The miko nodded and bowed her head slightly, "Higurashi…Kagome…"

"Well, Kagomecchi," his eyes narrowed, "I have come to be quite interested in you."

 _'That nickname again…Kagomecchi?'_ It took a second for Kagome to fully process his words into her mind before she took a step back in shock. "Interested in me? What…do you mean?"

"Huh?" Kise blinked, surprised the girl was a bit dense. Leaning forward, he wasn't surprised to see her lean back at the close proximity, earning her a small grin. "Just as I said. I am interested in you." Chuckling under his breath, the blonde teen straightforward before continuing his walk forward. "I am quite curious how you were able to form a plan during the game. You told Kurokocchi and Kagami about my inability to not copy Kuroko's moves, right?"

"Don't see how that can peak your interest," Kagome followed behind him; slowly as she clutched the first aid kit strap over her shoulder.

"The question is how?" He raised a brow, looking at the girl over his shoulder. "No one could have come up with such a fast deduction to my skills and a way to defeat me."

Kagome sighed, dropping her eyes down to her walking feet. "To be honest with you, Kise-kun, I don't even know how I was able to formulate such a plan with them. Today was my first time seeing a basketball game and be involved in one."

"Oh? Is that so?" he smiled, turning his head over to the right. He took notice of the empty basketball court. "You even bandaged Kurokocchi quickly." Kise turned to face the miko, making her jolt from his energetic turn. "I admire your fast work with your hands! You were unfazed by the blood!" He shook his head, "I do horribly at the sight of blood."

"Is that so?" Whispered Kagome. Her cerulean eyes dropped to see the basketball resting under his other hand, supported with his hip.

"Is Kurokocchi okay…?"

Kagome blinked, returning her gaze back to Kise's avoiding eyes. He was worried? A small smile curved onto the miko's lips, "don't worry. He is back to his normal self."

The blonde looked back down to the petite female in front of him, blushing slightly at her closed eyed-smile. "I-I…see. I'm glad…"

Opening her eyes, the miko looked at his dropped expression. She remembered him saying he had lost for the first time and never having lose a game. The memory of his small streaming tears clicked back. The miko tilted her head to the side, "are…you okay, Kise-kun?"

"Huh?" He returned his attention to the questioning female. Was he okay? Why was she asking that? "What do you mean, Kagomecchi-?"

"You cried." She cut him off softly, "men don't usually cry unless something they truly cared about was lost or they came across a bad experience. I am not saying you crying was wrong…but I do admire you for doing that in front of all of us. It shows how much you appreciate the sport and the pride you have in your skills." A small smile reappeared, "I…shouldn't be saying this because I am part of another team, but…practice and train, Kise-kun."

The blonde continued to blink, surprised by her encouraging words. From a female who was part of a team that won over them.

Kagome's eyes narrowed down slightly, "but just as you get better and train…we will too."

Kise's lips curved from the side before he burst into a small laugh. Kagome blinked back, taken back from his sudden reaction. Had she said something wrong?

"Gomen." Kise's finger wiped off the laughing tear hanging from the corner of his eye. "I wasn't laughing at you. I was just…taken back that our enemy, a female nonetheless, was encouraging the team they had just beaten."

Walking over to the nearby bench, he set his bag down before stepping over the wooden seat and sat on the back rest. Holding the ball between his hands, he looked over to the miko standing in front of him. "You know…I told Kagami that we were looking for a manager to manage our basketball club."

Kagome blinked, already knowing where this was going.

"Although Kurokocchi turned me down…I am offering you to transfer over to our school." He smirked slightly, "Become our manager."

The miko gripped the strap over her shoulder a bit tighter before sighing and dropping her head down. "Gomenasai…Kise-kun."

He blinked in return.

"But I am happy where I am." She sent him a smile. "I finally found something I am enjoying and with people that are welcoming me with open hearts. I can't abandon them. I can't bring myself to abandon them."

Kise sighed, looking down to the ball in his hands, "I see. Ah! First Kurokocchi turns me down, then I lose today's game, and now…you turn me down. I didn't expect you to say yes, but…I was being serious." His eyes widened, "Chotto! A girl has never turned me down!" His focus laid on the blank look on the miko's.

"Are you really that full of yourself?" Kagome's eyebrow rose.

She earned herself another laugh, "I like you, Kagomecchi! You really are the first girl to not fall for my looks easily!"

Kagome scratched her cheek, turning her attention to the basketball court, "well…I have seen better…," she whispered lowly. ' _Then again…a demons' looks overrule human looks any day.'_

"Y-You have seen better?!" exclaimed Kise. "Where?!"

"N-Nothing!" she laughed nervously. Her eyes calmed down, watching as Kise jumped off the bench. "Ano…I have a question."

"Hm?"

"You were friends with Kuroko-kun during middle school, right?"

Kise sighed: "Somewhat."

"What happened?" she questioned. "I mean, if the Generation of Miracles were all friends…why did you all go your separate ways?"

"Ah…," Kise looked up at the sky. "Kurokocchi…left right after the middle school championship game."

"Eh?" blinked Kagome, watching as the blonde had the ball spinning under his finger. "He…left?"

Kise nodded: "That is when the team kind of broke off. But then again…we all weren't that united," he laughed lightly. He turned his attention to the girl: "And you? What is really the reason you decided to join the basketball club?"

"Me?" Kagome quickly caught the ball in her hands after Kise gave it a gentle throw.

The blonde chuckled: "There must be more to it than just joining to be in a club and feel special."

Kagome's eyes landed on the ball in her hands, "I…am not sure. I guess…".

* * *

 

"Sheesh, where did that troublesome girl go to?" Grunted the tiger, looking left and right as the phantom player walked in front of him. "Now the whole team is looking for her. Oi, Kuroko, does she have a cellphone? Maybe we could call her?"

"I don't have her number." He replied.

"Dammit!" cursed Kagami. "We might spend the whole freaking night looking for her!"

Kuroko stopped in his tracks, his eyes set on a particular duo out near the wooden benches. The tiger scratched the back of his head before setting his eyes on the basketball court now occupied with three males. "Oh? Street ball. It's been a while since I have seen that in Japan."

"I found them."

Kagami blinked, looking down at the shorter male in front of him. Tracing his line of sight, he noticed the female they had been looking for with- "K-Kise?!"

Kuroko placed his finger on his lips, telling him to keep it down. He walked around the basketball court and tried to walk silently closer to overhear the talk along with the tiger behind him.

* * *

 

"I guess…I just want to be able to help others."

"Huh?" blinked Kise. "Help others?"

"I…want to be able to help and support others in their goals and their passions," she continued. "I know it doesn't sound like much, but with Seirin's smiles over their win…I felt warm myself. That I was able to contribute to their happiness made me feel content. Fully content."

"Well, sports is all about winning," Kise placed his hand on his hip. "It is normal for them to act happy that way after they won."

Kagome nodded to his logic: "Yes, you're right about that, but…I felt something different from their win. Their smiles were not of confidence, but modesty. Basketball and any other sport and hobby should be done because you like it and you are able to share it with your teammates." Her eyes landed on his questioning gaze. "Simple as that."

The miko chuckled to herself, remembering back how she had met both Kagami and Kuroko. "To be honest, I was quite impressed when I met Kagami-kun and Kuroko-kun. Their love and ambition for the sport really had me questioning it until…I witnessed what they could do. They weren't doing it mainly to win for themselves…but to share their victory with their teammates."

"I don't get it," whispered Kise. "I will tell you this, Kagomecchi. I truly respect you and the way you see things, but…if you continue to think highly of Kagami and Kuroko because of their passion for basketball...no doubt all of you will grow apart."

Kagome's eyes narrowed down in worry at the meaning behind his words.

"You see, Kagomecchi, the biggest difference between me and the Generation of Miracles isn't our physical abilities. They all have a special ability not even I can imitate. I realized during today's game that both are still learning. Just like the Generation of Miracles, Kagami has a unique ability."

 _'An ability?'_ blinked Kagome.

"For now, he is still an immature challenger. He is enjoying the thrill of recklessly playing strong opponents. However, someday he will achieve the level of the Generation of Miracles and grow apart from his team. Do you really believe he won't be a different person?" His eyebrow rose in question. "Kurokocchi will see this before any of you do and he will disappear just as he disappeared to us."

A sigh passed the miko's lips, "I appreciate your concern, Kise-kun." Controlling her boiling anger, Kagome sent the blonde a smile. "I truly believe he will get at the level of the Generation of Miracles, but because he has Kuroko-kun and I at his side…we will make sure he doesn't lose sight of what is truly important in the sport. His teammates."

Kise blinked; quite surprised. He wasn't expecting such a calm response from the girl. Chuckling under his breath, Kise took a step towards the miko, "well…it looks like I wasn't wrong in being interested in you, Kagomecchi. My offer still stands to join our school-"

"There you freaking are!"

Kagome was quickly pushed by the tiger's hand slapping her shoulder away, making her drop the ball. "Why the hell did you disappear?"

The miko rubbed her shoulder, "itai…"

"Kagami-kun, you shouldn't treat a woman like that," Kuroko came around the tiger and walked towards the miko. He placed his hand on her shoulder: "You need to learn to be gentle."

"Uruse! It is her fault we are looking for her like a lost puppy!"

"Who is the lost puppy?" Glared Kagome, continuing to rub her shoulder. "You? Or me?"

Kagami's eyebrow twitched before feeling the stare coming from the blonde. Turning his head, he faced the male, "yo."

"Were you listening?" Smiled Kise.

"I sure as hell was," he took a step forward. "What the hell are you kidnapping Kagome for? Because of you, all of us have to be looking for her!"

"Huh?" Kise blinked, "who cares if I talk with her a little bit? You have her in your school every day!"

"Because we can't go home!" He shouted back.

Kuroko looked over to the female, "are you okay?"

"Huh? Yeah…," she turned her gaze to Kuroko. "Gomen…"

The phantom haired male looked over to the two males and sighed. Walking over to the basketball players, he tried calming down the tiger, watching him argue about not having the right to take away their manager without letting them know. A small smile appeared on the miko's lips, watching their interaction before hearing the sounds of a grunting male.

"Damn it, looks like there is some trash over here."

Looking over to the court, Kagome blinked, watching a group of five guys talking to the three students playing basketball. The male wearing a green jacket scoffed, smirking as he took a step forward: "Come on, you have had enough. Give someone else a turn."

"We just got here! Wait your turn!" shouted one of the students.

"Our turn!?" exclaimed on of the thug followers wearing a yellow sweater.

"Now, now," smiled the male behind them. Patting his comrade, the brown haired male smirked at the three students. "Why don't we settles this with some basketball?"

"Who are those thugs?" glared Kagami, turning to see them play.

Kagome's eyebrows furrowed, watching as the three students played against three of the thugs, dribbling the ball through the court. They quickly made a basket, making the leader of the group smirk: "Wow, not bad. We might lose."

Before one of the students could dunk the ball, he was quickly thrown back and pushed to the ground by a fourth guy. The innocent male looked up, "huh? Hey, what was that!? It's three-on-three!"

"What?" Questioned the leader. "I said we would play basketball. I didn't say anything about three-on-three."

"What are you saying?" The student barked back, really pissed to see the smirk spreading on the thugs' faces. "That's not fair!"

He was quickly met with a kick in his gut, making him cough from the impact. "Huh? What did you say!?" Laughed the leader. "Sorry, I didn't hear you!" His foot rose to kick his face back.

Narrowing down her eyes, the miko made her way to the basketball court, _'bunch of bullies.'_ She placed her hands on her hips and glared at the leader the moment he turned around to face her. He blinked, surprised by her appearance. Since when had she arrived?

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Glared Kagome.

"Huh?" he raised a brow. "I'm sorry…but who are you?"

"That is none of your concern," she met held her stare strong. "You shouldn't be bully people like that and especially when you are older! Now apologize!"

The leader's eyes narrowed down as they matched a smirk. "Oh? But this is our territory-"

"Territory my ass!" she spoke, surprising everyone with her choice of words. "Now apologize, you bakas!"

She quickly felt his grip on her uniform's collar and brought her close to his face: "Oi, what your pretty mouth, wench. I wouldn't want to ruin it."

"Try it," she glared. "All you can do is bark about being tough and only bite when cheating! You were playing unfair with them, so if you are not going to apologize, leave them be!"

Kagami's eyebrow twitched, watching the scene unfold, "w-what the hell is she doing!?"

Kise's eyes widened, seeing the exact same thing, "kagomecchi?!"

"We don't want to, wench," he brought her closer as his grip tightened on her collar. "Now, since you aren't going to shut up, I will silence you myself!" A ball quickly was thrown to his head, letting go of the female in his grip.

The male gripped the side of his head, trailing the orange ball as it rolled back to its owner's feet. "You shouldn't be treating her like that. A woman deserves respect and she is right…there is nothing fair about this."

Kagome blinked, "k-kuroko-kun…"

"Who the hell are you? Where did you come from?" grunted the leader.

"This isn't basketball," continued Kuroko. "Besides, violence is bad…especially on a female."

The male with the yellow sweater grabbed Kuroko from his jacket and brought him up, "what do you think you're doing!?"

Kagome swatted his hand away from the phantom player and stood in front of him, "hey! I told you to leave if you aren't going to play fair!"

The leader chuckled as he walked towards the female, "there are still people like this these days. You really are picking a fight with us, aren't you? How about we settle this with basketball. You two against us?"

Kagome's eyes glare lowered before she felt an arm wrap around her shoulders. Looking to her left, she blinked to see a smile on Kise's face. "Hmm, what is this? Are you guys bothering my girl?"

 _'Your girl?_ ' Kagome's eyebrow twitched.

"Oi. She is not your girl," glared Kagami, placing his hand on top of the miko's head. His eyes landed on the group of thugs while Kuroko grabbed the ball into his hand and stood beside Kagome.

A chuckle escape Kise's lips: "Well, either way, mind if we play too? You see, you can't possibly think in having the female to your advantage." Kise's smile turned to a more threatening one.

Kagami turned his gaze downwards to the girl under his grip: "Why did you get involved, idiot?"

"Kagome-chan, it could have been dangerous," added Kuroko, looking to his side.

The miko simply sent them a smile, watching as the group of thugs silently awed in fright at the height of the boys. With a sigh, Kagami let go of the girl's head: "Five-on-three is fine. Bring it on."

"What did you say?" glared the leader of the group.

Kagome felt her hand grabbed under Kise's grip as he dragged her behind the hoop with the other three students. Blinking, she watched him send her a wink: "Stay there, Kagomecchi! Just keep your eyes on me, alright?"

"Eh?" she blinked again, quickly seeing the game begin right after getting a small punch on his arm by the tiger for his comment. The game speeded up in fast pace with Kuroko's passing and both Kagami and Kise doing the scoring. Not once did the thugs make a point as their ball was always passed with the help of the phantom player.

"Sugoi…," whispered one of the students standing outside the court line.

Kagome looked over to her right, seeing the excitement and thrill in their eyes to see the trio play against the thugs with little to no effort.

"They are great, huh?" smiled Kagome, catching the attention of the boys beside her. She turned her eyes back to the game, watching as Kise made the shot. "I really wanted to see them play together as a team on the same side…I sure don't regret it," she chuckled while Kuroko passed the ball to the tiger. "I will sure get a scolding after this," she sighed.

The game ended with all the thugs down on the floor defeat to their last sweat of energy. The students blinked in unison: "They…destroyed them."

Kagome grabbed the abandoned ball off the court and walked over to the trio. Handing the ball to its original owner, Kise, she walked forward to grab her things from the bench. Knowing the followed behind, she turned around from the bench and noticed the three looking at her with a glare and their eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"What the hell were you thinking!?" exclaimed Kagami.

Kagome winced at the scolding, averting her eyes to the side. Kuroko came to stand beside her, "don't need to yell at her. That is why I came between before that guy could harm her."

"And what!?" he shouted back. "Did you think you could win if it turned into a fight?"

"No," he replied with a blank look. "They would have beaten me up."

"Teme!"

Kuroko raised his arm to flex – or at least try. "Look at these guns."

"You don't have any!" His tick appeared on his forehead.

Kagome chuckled at his innocence, catching their attention. Kagami pointed his finger to the miko: "Stop laughing!"

Kise sighed, placing his hand on his hip as he looked at the girl, "Kagomecchi, you sure are beginning to amaze me, but he is right, Kagomecchi. You shouldn't have put yourself in the middle of that."

She blinked: "Huh? But you three came anyways."

"Huh?" All three blinked at her back.

"I know you three would come anyways," she smiled. "Besides, I can't stand watching others bully the weak just because they think they can and have authority. I felt like I need to tell them."

"You should have considered the consequences first!" exclaimed Kagami.

"She forgot to," replied Kuroko.

"Don't help her!" He shouted back.

"Yeah, I will go with that," added Kagome.

"Don't give me that crap! Both of you could have been beaten up!"

Kagome and Kuroko pouted as they looked down and replied: "Gomen…"

Their attention drew over to the blonde as he grabbed his school bag. A smile stretched onto his lips: "Well, I should get going. It was fun playing with you, Kurokocchi. Ah!" He wrapped his arm around the miko's shoulder, catching her off guard to a blush. "I almost forgot! We should exchange phone numbers."

"Why the hell should you two exchange phone numbers?" Kagami's eyebrow crooked up.

"Well, to take her on a date of course," he winked.

Kagome blinked as the blush darkened and spread. Kuroko grabbed her wrist and pulled her behind him: "Please stop with your games, Kise-kun. You already have enough girls over you."

"Aww," he whined, "but I am serious about Kagomecchi." His eyes narrowed down to a serious tone. "I will convince you to come to us, Kagomecchi. I will find a way to get your number!"

The miko was left with her eyebrow twitching: "A way…to get my number? Wouldn't that be…stalking?" she whispered to herself.

"Also, don't think I have forgotten about my revenge, Kagamicchi!"

Kagami jolted to the nickname: "K-Kagamicchi!?"

"Ah…so Kise-kun has come to respect you," nodded the miko.

Kuroko turned to the tiger: "Kise-kun adds '-cchi' to the names of those he acknowledges."

"Congratulations!" chuckled Kagome as she patted the tiger's arm.

"I don't want that!"

"Don't lose in the preliminaries!" exclaimed Kise as he began to walk away and soon disappeared from their line of sight.

"Seriously, you knew better than to get into it too, Kuroko!" glared Kagami as the phantom player turned to face him.

"Ano…"

Catching the faint voice of the female in front of them, both males turned to face the miko. "Can I ask you both something?" she questioned to them. Turning to their eyes, she looked straight into their silent stares. "Did…both of you hear my conversation with Kise-kun?"

Kagami raised his eyebrow: "About parting ways? We all don't even get along in the first place."

A small smile appeared on the phantom player's lips: "We did hear and…we appreciate your words. We all can't do it alone if we want to beat the Generation of Miracles."

Kagome blinked before nodding slowly as her head dropped. She felt a light pat on her head and looked up to Kuroko's sky blue eyes: "Don't worry. We will stick together…no matter what."

"Besides," cut in Kagami, "we decided to be Kuroko's light, remember? Since that is his basketball way."

A small smile appeared on her lips as Kuroko's gaze remained on the tiger. Kuroko blinked: "Kagami-kun, you say some pretty deep stuff."

"U-Uruse!"

* * *

 

"There you are! Sheesh!"

Kagome flinched upon hearing the coach's voice as she and the two boys behind her walked out the park's entrance. Kagome was quickly pulled by Riko's hand and yanked away from the first year duo. Riko glared at the miko: "Where the heck where you!? We were looking for you!"

"G-Gomen!" Kagome closed her eyes, feeling the intensity of the coach's glare.

"Ah, there you are," blinked Hyuga with the rest of the team behind him. "We were worried you got kidnapped or something."

"She was," scoffed Kagami. "That idiot Kise took her away."

"K-Kise!?" exclaimed the team, watching as Riko let go of the girl, surprised herself.

"K-Kise-kun spoke to you?" blinked Riko.

Kagome scratched her cheek: "Uh…well just a bit."

"He wanted to take her as his basketball club's manager," spoke Kuroko.

"Eh!?"

Riko quickly grabbed the miko in her arms: "No way! He is not taking her away! She is ours now!" She huffed, linking her arms with the manager. "Now let us go before he comes back and kidnaps you!"

She glared at the road ahead, dragging the miko to the bus stop. The Seirin team followed behind, chuckling as the coach was beginning to become over protective of the girl.

* * *

 

"Well, that should do be enough copies," Kagome looked at the stack of papers in her hands as she stood in the copy room in the school building. It had been two days since the practice game and Riko was determined to train their stamina, seeing the team had been tired from just that one game.

'I guess that is the post-result after going against one of the Generation of Miracles,' a sigh passed Kagome's lips. 'And Kise-kun mentioned himself being the weakest of the other four...' Her eyebrows furrowed upon seeing the name 'Shutoku' on the sheet of paper. 'Riko-senpai had told me to research some of the school and couldn't help but read up on this school. Not only are they in the top eight in the nation, but…apparently one of the Generation of Miracles is in that team. I just wonder who…' Looking at the screen of the copy machine, Kagome sighed: 'Maybe I should contact Kise-kun and ask him?'

Shaking her head, she grabbed the last copy from the machine and straightened them out before leaving the room. Walking towards the gym, the miko opened the doors to the gym and noticed the team practicing their runs with Riko blowing the whistle as they reached the end over and over again.

Kagome walked next to the coach, catching her attention. "Oh, Kagome-chan! Are they done?"

"Huh?" she blinked. "Yeah, I was able to organize them the best I could."

Riko grabbed a sheet and looked it over: "No, it looks fine. Did you read the information that I gave you about the preliminaries?"

The miko nodded: "Yeah, I was able to understand the information about the tournament."

"Great! So you explain to the boys!"

"Eh?" blinked Kagome.

"Don't worry, Hyuga-kun will help you in the explanation if you need it!" Riko grabbed her whistle and blew on it to catch the team's attention. Motioning them over to circle around them, Kuroko blinked to see the miko looked over at the papers in her hands.

"What are those?" he questioned.

"Oh, these are the tournament stats. I was able to contact the Inter-High and district committee to give me the schools that will be participating," Kagome handed everyone a sheet. "From here, you can see who you will be going up against." She sighed, returning to stare at the boys as their attentions remained on the sheet of paper. "The preliminaries start as a tournament, obviously."

"In other words," cut in Hyuga, "if we lose, we are out. We can't let our guard down for a single game."

Nodding to his words, Kagome returned back to the paper in her hands: "Correct me if I am wrong, Hyuga-senpai, but as far as I understand it, Tokyo has blocks A through D. The winner of each block goes on to play in the championship league. The top three teams from the championship league participate in the Inter-High." Her hands dropped to her side: "Only three schools are chosen out of three hundred participating schools. Only the chosen one percent will stand on the main court which is the Inter-High."

Riko patted the girl's back: "Wow, you really got it down! I am so proud of you!"

"A-Arigatou…"

Kuroko blinked: "How long until the preliminaries?"

The miko smiled: "Three weeks."

Hyuga took a step forward: "We fell short last year, but we will definitely go this year. We will be facing a lot of strong schools, but our biggest and strongest opponent is Shutoku High. Last year, they were in the nation's top eight."

Kagome sighed: "I did a bit of research on Shutoku…just like Kaijo, they have one of the Generation of Miracles on their team."

"Eh?" blinked the team, a bit surprised on the news that they would be competing against another Generation of Miracles member so soon.

Riko lowered the sheet from her person: "If we can't beat them, we won't make it to the Nationals."

"Hm, do you know which Generation of Miracles it is?" questioned Kagami.

Riko shook her head: "Unfortunately, no. But, we have a bigger problems to worry about."

Kagome looked over to the coach: "Oh, did you go to see our first opponent's practice game?"

"Hai," she sighed, "but, we shouldn't be worrying about Shutoku when our first match isn't looking good. One of their players might give us trouble. You can watch the video later." She handed Kagome her phone to show everyone the pictures she took of the practice match. "Take a look at this picture."

Kagome blinked before flipping the phone and waited as the team stood around her to see the screen. Kagome's eyes widened a tiny bit at the picture of cat.

Hyuga blinked a few times: "T-This is…"

"Kawaii," smiled Kagome.

"Ah, gomen," Riko shook her head and waved her hand: "It's the next one."

"The next one?" Kagome clicked for the next picture and all eyes focused on the picture of a tall dark skinned basketball player.

"His name is Papa Mbaye Siki," explained Riko. "Two meters tall and weight 87 kilograms (191 lbs.)."

Kagome looked over to the coach: "Is he foreign student?"

Riko nodded: "Hai, he is from Senegal."

"Senegal?" repeated Hyuga, grabbing the phone from Kagome's hand to take a closer look. "He is huge! Two meters!?"

"Is this even allowed?" blinked Shinji.

"He is studying abroad?" questioned Shun. "Ah, gomen, but where is Senegal?"

Kagami crossed his arms: "He is just big."

"Papa Mbaya- ah wait…what was his name again?" Kagome stuttered, already having forgotten the pronunciation.

"Papanpa?" blinked Shinji. "It's Papa Try-Hard."

Shun jumped slightly as a pun entered his mind: "Papa…Papaya Ito."

The team began to converse between each other, more worried about the name. Riko sighed: "We are not getting anywhere."

"Tell me about it," chuckled Kagome. She looked over to the phantom player: "Ah! Kuroko-kun, why don't you give him a nickname?"

Kuroko placed his fingers under his chin in thought. "Hm…how about 'Dad', then?"

Shinji shrugged "Where is your naming sense?"

"Dad?" blinked Shun. He quickly pulled out his small notepad and pencil. "Dad's company is a dud."

Everyone began to laugh under their breath over the nickname leaving Kuroko blinking at the confusion on the humor. Kagome sighed: "Hm, so for this Dad, we will have to…"

She watched as the team continued to laugh, making her sigh again: "They aren't listening."

"That is why you need to be in control," smirked Riko.

"Huh? I can't do that," blinked Kagome. "I'm not the coach."

"Eh, we can share the job," she chuckle. She turned her glare onto the team: "Oi! Listen!"

The team quickly jumped and froze at the sound of her threatening voice. Seeing their attention was now focused, Riko placed her hand on her hip: "He is not just tall. His arms and legs are long too. Everything about him is big. More and more schools are inviting students from abroad to increase their power."

Kagome looked down at the sheet of paper again: "Hm, so our next opponent, Shinkyo High, will be a tough start."

Nodding, Riko faced the first year duo: "So, Kagami-kun, Kuroko-kun, starting tomorrow, the two of you will have your own training regimen and since it was Kagome-chan who had made this combo…she will keep an eye on you two."

"Huh?" Kagome blinked away from the paper, seeing all the stares on her. "C-Chotto matte…I can't train them!"

"Yes you can!" Riko placed her arm around her shoulders. "Besides, those two listen to you very well!"

"Ah…wait-"

Riko faced the team with Kagome under her arm: "The preliminaries start on May sixteenth. Until then, you won't even have time to complain!"

Kagome sighed; defeated. She knew she couldn't win under the coach's orders. Feeling Riko's arm come off from her, she blinked upon seeing Kuroko standing in front of her. "Kuroko-kun?"

"I look forward to working with you, Kagome-chan," he nodded.

Kagami came from behind the male, looking down at her: "Hope you can keep up."

Kagome smirked back: "Hm, we will see."

"Alright, so for the rest of today, continue to what you were doing. Real training starts tomorrow," Riko blew her whistle.

Watching as the team walked back to the court with balls in their hands, Riko looked to her side and noticed Kagome grabbing her school bag. "Where are you going?"

"I…am going to do some research," she answered.

"Research?" blinked Riko.

"I am going to ask…a friend about Shutoku," she replied before smiling at the coach.

Riko's eyebrow rose: "Oh? Who is this friend?" she had a sense on who the friend was. A small smirk appeared on her lips: "Could it be-!" the coach blinked as Kagome placed her hand on her lips before she could release the name.

Kagome sighed, slowly releasing the coach's lips. "I mean…I don't want to bother Kuroko-kun with this since he is trying to concentrate on this team now and now that he is working together with Kagami-kun, I don't want it to be a distraction."

"Hm," Riko crossed her arms. "Very well. You can go." She gave the girl a wink: "I will make sure those two don't find out where you were."

"Arigatou," smiled Kagome, clutching the strap of new basketball equipment bag, she turned around.

"Make sure you tell me what you find out," smirked Riko.

"Don't worry, I will," she waved her off and headed out the door before checking her phone. "Hm, he should still be at Kaijo practicing." Kagome walked out the school gates and headed towards the bus stop. "I should really start getting people's numbers…".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been a while since I last got on here and updated. I am still new to ao3, so I hope to get used to it soon and post more of my fics on here! 
> 
> Kudos and comments would be much appreciated! I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter!

**Author's Note:**

> Sending love (no pun intended) would be appreciated. I will try my best to post all 33 chapters here!


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